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Respected Contributor
Posts: 2,992
Registered: ‎03-16-2010

This brand/company seems to be losing its way.

If you have your eye on a bag or other KS item, now 30% off the entire site.

 

It seems they always have a sale. Some brands you should never pay the listed price. 

Trusted Contributor
Posts: 1,818
Registered: ‎06-21-2015

I'm not surprised . Since her passing and the circumstances it would be hard to keep the company going.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 65,680
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

She hadn't been involved with the company for years and had, in fact, started another venture before her passing. Last I looked, Coach owns Kate Spade and before that it was still run independently of Spade herself since 2006. Could be that like many brands the pendulum simply has swung in other directions. My guess is Coach's focus in acquiring the brand was to minimize competition for its own brand and to eek out whatever profit from the Spade line it can without any sizable investment other than the several billion it cost them to buy it.


In my pantry with my cupcakes...
Trusted Contributor
Posts: 1,463
Registered: ‎12-26-2011

Actually, prior to Coach purchasing KS (1 1/2 yrs ago)  Kate Spade was owned by Liz Claiborne.  Liz Claiborne purchased the company and under the supervision of  CEO Craig Levitt (formally with Ralph Lauren) and Chief Creative Officer Deborah Lloyd ( formally with Burberry) they turned Kate Spade into a multi billion dollar empire.  All the designs were Deborah Lloyd’s vision, she is amazing.  Kate Spade became so big that they sold off Liz Claiborne brand and changed the name of the company to Kate Spade  New York.   As we all know, COACH purchased them so all the people who made it into an empire are no longer there.  Deborah Lloyd is gone and you are now seeing the vision of someone else.  Kate Spade, the woman who passed away, hasn’t owned the company in over a decade.  It was a tiny company when she sold it.  She started a new company a few years ago, Frances Valentine.  The company is still in business they have an on-line store.

Regular Contributor
Posts: 227
Registered: ‎10-02-2012

@sweetee2 wrote:

I'm not surprised . Since her passing and the circumstances it would be hard to keep the company going.


 

She'd actually sold the company in 2006, so she hadn't been involved in a very long time. I don't think her passing has anything to do with the issues the company is currently experiencing. 

Football is my favorite season.
Honored Contributor
Posts: 24,685
Registered: ‎07-21-2011

The company was sold long before Kate's death.

kindness is strength
Honored Contributor
Posts: 17,739
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

I got a pr of her boots, and they certainly haven't lasted . I think  they used a substandard suede on them

Trusted Contributor
Posts: 1,187
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

For some strange reason, I feel uncomfortable buying that line since she has passed. 

Open my heart and you will see, engraved inside, Italy - Robert Browning