Coach has inked a multiyear partnership with the WNBA, according to a press release last week.
The agreement makes the Tapestry-owned brand the official handbag partner of the league. Coach will be highlighted during key events throughout the women’s basketball season, which began with the draft last week. The brand will also be an associate partner of the AT&T WNBA All-Star 2025 game.
Through the deal, Coach will present stories of five WNBA prospects who bridge “the worlds of sport and fashion,” per the release. Highlighted players include University of Connecticut’s Paige Bueckers, Texas Christian University’s Hailey Van Lith, Louisiana State University’s Aneesah Morrow, University of South California’s Kiki Iriafen and Notre Dame’s Sonia Citron.
The campaign is meant to encourage players and fans to express themselves and relates to Coach’s slogan “the courage to be real,” per the release.
“Coach and the WNBA share a belief in the power of self-expression,” Joon Silverstein, Coach’s chief marketing officer, said in the release. “We're excited to partner with this league, an organization that uniquely champions individuality, and to support these courageous athletes who are breaking molds both on and off the court, inspiring our audiences to embrace the many possibilities of who they are and who they can be.”
The brand will also become a presenting sponsor of WNBA Pride, a program launched in 2014 to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community through a slate of televised games.
Colie Edison, chief growth officer for the WNBA, said in the release that the organization looked forward to inspiring fans to embrace individuality.
“The WNBA sits at the intersection of sport and lifestyle and has always championed players to translate what they do on the court into their own personal style off the court,” Edison said.
The announcement comes as Coach has been working to position itself as a brand for younger customers. The brand has seen some success in attracting these customers by using consumer data to drive its day-to-day decision making.
The strategy has been paying off. In Tapestry’s most recent quarterly earnings report in February, Coach revenue rose 11% year over year. The brand has seen consistent growth while its sister brand Kate Spade has seen declines.
