As Keanu Reeves might say...
Whoa....
I've been in this market a little less than 20 years. Enough to become a little jaded at what suppliers say or do to create "buzz" about their company's Special Markets efforts. And long enough to figure I'd seen about everything. And then Wednesday happened.
I got three phone calls in the space of a half hour--all saying that Coach has put its Corporate Markets business "under review" and that they were no longer accepting purchase orders.
Whoa.
By just about any measurement, Coach is a Shining Star in our business. Visible in the trade groups, managed by experienced professionals, a charter supporter of the Forum for People Performance Management and Measurement. What on Earth could cause them to take a stand like this?
In the two days since Wednesday, I've heard all manner of conjecture about the situation. And it runs the gamut from "Coach doesn't want to be in our business at all" to "Coach is trying to redefine the way program recipients receive product" to "Someone in Coach's hierarchy doesn't like them being in the market and wants them out".
I'm a Coach customer--they are part of Laureate, my online giftcard concept. So I had more than a little interest to know what was happening. I know no more than most of you. It is an unprecedented event as far as I can remember--a leading company deciding to suspend its efforts in our market pending a "review".
And while I don't know what will happen, I do know this--the market is abuzz. If they wanted people to talk about them, they've succeeded beyond their wildest dreams. Customers are wondering when (or if) they'll get product shipped. Reps are wondering what kind of company they'll be selling for (IF they're selling for them).
I even heard a description of the "nuclear option"--a complete closing of the Special Markets business. This scares me in a material way, because if Coach can walk away, as successful as they appear to be, what's stopping others from doing so?
Whoa.....
Pete
I've been in this market a little less than 20 years. Enough to become a little jaded at what suppliers say or do to create "buzz" about their company's Special Markets efforts. And long enough to figure I'd seen about everything. And then Wednesday happened.
I got three phone calls in the space of a half hour--all saying that Coach has put its Corporate Markets business "under review" and that they were no longer accepting purchase orders.
Whoa.
By just about any measurement, Coach is a Shining Star in our business. Visible in the trade groups, managed by experienced professionals, a charter supporter of the Forum for People Performance Management and Measurement. What on Earth could cause them to take a stand like this?
In the two days since Wednesday, I've heard all manner of conjecture about the situation. And it runs the gamut from "Coach doesn't want to be in our business at all" to "Coach is trying to redefine the way program recipients receive product" to "Someone in Coach's hierarchy doesn't like them being in the market and wants them out".
I'm a Coach customer--they are part of Laureate, my online giftcard concept. So I had more than a little interest to know what was happening. I know no more than most of you. It is an unprecedented event as far as I can remember--a leading company deciding to suspend its efforts in our market pending a "review".
And while I don't know what will happen, I do know this--the market is abuzz. If they wanted people to talk about them, they've succeeded beyond their wildest dreams. Customers are wondering when (or if) they'll get product shipped. Reps are wondering what kind of company they'll be selling for (IF they're selling for them).
I even heard a description of the "nuclear option"--a complete closing of the Special Markets business. This scares me in a material way, because if Coach can walk away, as successful as they appear to be, what's stopping others from doing so?
Whoa.....
Pete
posted by Pete Mitchell at 10:26 AM
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