Coach is updating its Coach Play @ Cat Street concept store in Tokyo, Japan, adding a new entrance shop dedicated to the Tabby bag and a co-creation bar centered on personalization. The changes build on a space that already earned a longlist spot at the Dezeen Awards 2024 for retail interior design.
Coach Play @ Cat Street sits on Tokyo‘s Cat Street, a pedestrian stretch running between Shibuya and Harajuku known for independent boutiques and streetwear culture. The store was designed by Coach Design Studio with interiors by Intercube across four open plan floors, blending the brand’s New York roots with the surrounding neighborhood’s energy.
A Dedicated Space for the Tabby
The Tabby bag now has its own entrance shop, a focused retail zone that greets visitors before they reach the rest of the floor. The Tabby has been one of Coach‘s most consistent performers in recent years, drawing on the brand’s 1970s archive designs. Giving it a standalone entrance reflects how central the bag has become to the brand’s identity.
Personalization Gets a Permanent Home
The new co-creation bar brings Coach‘s Coach Create customization service into a fixed, dedicated space within the store. Customers can monogram and embellish pieces on site, a format the brand has been testing across several locations. The setup is part of a broader shift in luxury retail toward in-store experiences that go beyond browsing and buying.
The Neon Signs That Started It All
When the store originally opened, one of its most distinctive elements was its signage. Coach Play @ Cat Street features 28 custom LED neon signs, developed with Custom Neon under the direction of Coach‘s SVP Global Visual Experience, Giovanni Zaccariello, and Senior Manager Global Creative Development and Visual Production, Elle McNamara. 10 of the 28 signs are animated, and 11 feature UV printed backboards, each one custom made and non repeating.
Japan as a Testing Ground
Coach now operates Play locations in Harajuku, Osaka, and Kyoto, with the Cat Street store functioning as the most developed version of the concept. The stores blend product retail with event programming and food and beverage. The Cat Street location includes a reservation only Coach Cafe styled after a New York diner. The Japanese market has become where the brand tests and refines its most experiential retail formats.
