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Former Coach and Tapestry CEOs Form SPAC to Buy Gen Z Brands

The exterior of a Coach store with a shopper window shopping bags outside the store.
Coach store | Source: Shutterstock (Shutterstock)

Jide Zeitlin and Lew Frankfort have teamed up to create Bleuacacia, a blank-check company that intends to buy brands that “have a powerful emotional engagement with millennial and Gen-Z consumers,” according to the company’s filings.

Zeitlin most recently served as Tapestry’s chief executive and was on the company’s board for 14 years. He resigned last year after sexual misconduct allegations became public. Frankfort served as chief executive of Coach from 1985 until 2014. The two will serve as co-CEOs of Bleuacacia, which is looking to raise $300 million from investors. 

“This is a critical moment for consumer brands given the development of vaccines and the potential end of the COVID-19 crisis,” the company stated in its filings. “We believe that well-managed brands can realize tremendous growth over the next decade. As such, this is an exciting time to pursue acquisitions of globally relevant, premium and consumer-facing brands.”

SPACs — a special purpose acquisition company — have been rising in popularity in retail. Former Gap CEO Art Peck launched a SPAC this year to buy fashion brands in March, and Simon Property Group created one too in February.

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