NEW YORK, United States — Tapestry Inc topped Wall Street estimates for third-quarter sales on Tuesday, helped by stronger demand for Coach and Kate Spade handbags.

Sales at Coach, which makes up over 70 percent of Tapestry's overall sales, rose 4 percent in the three months ended Sept. 29.

In an effort to maintain its exclusivity, Tapestry has been pulling inventory from department stores and cutting back on flash sales.

The fashion house, also known for Stuart Weitzman footwear, is also benefiting from lower tax rates.

Tapestry said quarterly net income was $122.3 million (£96 million), compared with a loss of $17.7 million a year earlier.

Excluding one-time items, the company earned 48 cents per share, exceeding analysts' average estimate of 45 cents, according to Refinitiv data.

Net sales rose to $1.38 billion, above analysts' expectations of $1.36 billion.

By Aishwarya Venugopal and Jaslein Mahil; editor: Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Sai Sachin Ravikumar.