Miles Cahn, Co-Founder of Coach Handbags, Dies at 95 -

Miles Cahn, Co-Founder of Coach Handbags, Dies at 95 -
Miles Cahn, who with his wife founded the Coach Leatherware Company, which helped redefine the American handbag as both chic
and practical, died on Friday at his home in Manhattan.
While they built their business, the Cahns also became involved in civic causes,
including the New York Public Library and the Food Bank for New York City.
Mr. Cahn and his wife, Lillian Cahn, founded Coach in 1961 after buying a small wallet manufacturer on West 34th Street and renaming it.
Mr. Cahn graduated from the City College of New York and later served in the Army during World War II.
“In New York, there were a lot of handbag companies, and at that time stores were all buying knockoffs of bags made in Europe.
After selling Coach, the Cahns established the 600-acre Coach Farm in Gallatinville,
N. Y., in Columbia County, where they made fresh and aged goat cheeses.
In 1985, the Cahns sold the company to Sara Lee Corporation for a reported $30 million.
During the 1960s the Cahns actively protested the war in Vietnam, including buying an ad in The Times addressed
to President Nixon, according to autobiographical notes that Mr. Cahn had prepared before his death.