Biography
Victor Luis is chief executive of Moose Knuckles and the former chief executive of Tapestry Inc. Luis exited Tapestry in September 2019 having breathed new life into the long struggling Coach business, now Tapestry Inc., focusing on the repositioning of the American giant as a modern luxury brand and supporting Stuart Vevers in establishing the brand’s new creative identity. He oversaw a gradual turnaround of the business amidst a landscape of global turbulence and slowing growth, in a testament to the strength of his management skills.
Luis’ decade-long involvement with Coach, the American heritage leather brand, positioned him to effectively restore the brand image and return the company to positive growth, something it had not seen for years. After struggling to compete with other accessible luxury brands gaining traction in global markets, in 2016 Coach reported double-digit growth in Europe and has grown its business in China to an impressive $600 million under his leadership. Luis drew upon his long and varied career in fashion to oversee the brand’s recovery, which includes the company’s $574m acquisition of Stuart Weitzman in 2015, and appointment of creative director Stuart Vevers .
After attending university at College of the Holy Cross and Durham University for his BA and MA respectively, his career began with a series of marketing and sales positions at companies within the LVMH conglomerate. He then took the reins as Baccarat’s chief executive in 2002 for four years.
Before being appointed to the role of chief executive at Coach in 2014, Luis served on the brand’s leadership team since 2006 in various roles including as the brand’s president, chief communications officer, and president of Coach international retail. In 2017, the group was renamed Tapestry Inc. In September 2019, Tapestry Inc. replaced Luis with long-time chairman Jide Zeitlin, just weeks after the high-end fashion house cut its full-year earnings forecast and warned of troubles at its Kate Spade brand.
The former Tapestry executive expanded his role at Moose Knuckles beyond executive chairman and taking on an undisclosed increased investment in the luxury outerwear brand in September 2021. Luis previously sought to invest in the brand in June, becoming an operating partner alongside Cathay Capital.