Tariffs Won’t Bring Manufacturing Back to U.S., Says Ex-Coach CEO

Former Coach CEO Lew Frankfort isn’t convinced that new tariffs will push luxury handbag makers to bring production home.

Frankfort, who led Coach for decades, warned that the current environment requires “careful” decision-making by retailers. (Photo: Gotham Ghostwriters) 

“If you want to give consumers the best possible value, you really need to make most of your products outside the U.S.,” Frankfort told Yahoo Finance executive editor Brian Sozzi.

While the Trump administration has framed tariffs as a way to bring manufacturing jobs back to the U.S., Frankfort said the issue is more complicated.

He pointed to a shortage of skilled workers — the kind of craftsmanship that helped build Coach’s early reputation.

“Fifty years ago, we had those skills with our immigrant population,” he said. “Our country depends on new populations to fuel jobs that Americans have graduated from. The reality is that many jobs are remaining unfilled in the U.S.”

That shortage is already being felt in other industries. Ford CEO Jim Farley recently told Yahoo Finance that the company has about 6,000 unfilled mechanic positions.

“We’ll have a significant problem in service industries, in farming, in factories, if we don’t find a way to attract immigrants who want to live the American dream,” Frankfort said.

Shares of Tapestry, which owns Coach, are up more than 78% year to date and 159% over the past 12 months.

Frankfort, who led Coach for decades before stepping down in 2014, warned that the current environment requires “careful” decision-making by retailers, Francisco Velasquez also reported for Yahoo Finance.