Coach restaurant Singapore: Part of the fashion dining trend, or a trend-proof brand move?
It’s both, according to the company that has successfully revived its image by winning over Gen Zs with accessible luxury accessories and experiences.
Coach opens its first restaurant in Singapore at Jewel Changi Airport, blending New York flair with classic American comfort food. (Photo: Coach)
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The past decade has seen Coach undergo one of the most compelling brand revivals in contemporary fashion. Once dismissed by a generation that viewed the C-monogrammed shoulder bags as their mothers’ bags, the longstanding American leather goods company has steadily repositioned itself as a pop-culture-savvy, quality brand beloved by Gen Z and younger millennials.
Among its brand-reshaping efforts is the company’s foray into the food and beverage (F&B) business, including the Coach Restaurant at Jewel Changi Airport that opened on Oct 31 (Friday).
“F&B is really about creating experiences for our customers,” said Trevor Wagstaffe, senior director and head of Coach F&B APAC. “We are constantly looking for ways to give our customers a new and exciting way to experience the brand, and F&B provides a beautiful touchpoint. Food is emotional, and the ability to connect emotionally with our customers through food enables us to create different experiences that stand out.”
With its open kitchen and signature tanned leather banquettes, the space, as Gen Z-ers would say, is giving classic New York bistro. Think walls lined with framed images of vintage Coach ads and memorabilia, and, to really drive home its New York roots, an iconic yellow taxi suspended from the ceiling.
The menu features American classics like hot dogs, burgers, lobster rolls, and pizza slices, as well as steaks cooked over white maple oakwood on an open-fire grill. “We were very intentional about how we built the menu and the price architecture. We made sure there are price points in every category that are accessible. For example, we have a S$9 (US$7) slice of pizza… We have a hanger steak that starts in the S$40 range, and it goes all the way up to wagyu in the S$140 range. And so, at each tier, there's something for everyone,” said Wagstaffe.
Like at the Coach Bar along Keong Saik Road, martinis at the restaurant are priced from S$12. “In today’s age, that’s unheard of. And the reason we started the $12 martini programme was accessibility,” he added.
FROM SINGAPORE TO THE WORLD
“Singapore and Southeast Asia are an innovation hub for us,” said Campbell O’Shea, senior vice president and general manager of Tapestry (Coach’s parent company) Southeast Asia and Oceania. “A lot of our innovation started in Singapore, and it’s driven out to the rest of the world.”
It was here, in 2023, that Coach piloted its Play Store, which tested a Coach Cafe concept that led to the first Coach Coffee Shop opening in Jakarta a year later and the first Coach Restaurant beside it.
The brand’s expansion into hospitality is fundamentally aimed at capturing the Gen Z luxury consumer in Asia. “We are very clear that we are going after a younger demographic, and every decision we are making is filtered through that lens,” said O’Shea. “What we are seeing with Gen Z consumers is that they want experiences. They want to be in the mall. They want to be shopping in real life. So that allows us to connect with them in a much more emotional way.”
“When they experience those tactile emotional moments,” Wagstaffe added, referring to customers taking photographs and interacting with the brand’s hospitality experiences, “everyone’s face just lights up… They’re engaging with the brand in such a unique way.”
What of customers in other age groups? Campbell said: “I think what we’re seeing is that the Gen Z consumer is influencing all age groups… We’ve started to understand that when we focus on the Gen Z consumer, we’re also winning with all age groups.”
BETTING ON HOSPITALITY IN A CHALLENGING MARKET
Despite Singapore’s increasingly volatile F&B market, Coach remains buoyant about its hospitality ventures. “We’re very optimistic on the future of hospitality in Singapore, and we’re showing that through our innovation and investment into the market as a whole for Southeast Asia,” Wagstaffe said. “More than ever, customers are craving connection, community and experiences. And we feel that this really delivers at the highest level.”
O’Shea added: “Hospitality is part of our overall strategy for the brand, and it is something we are innovating, investing in, and continuing to grow here in Singapore and beyond.”
