Coach cuts profit view on weak holiday

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - High-end handbag maker Coach Inc warned that its profit for the important 2008 holiday quarter would fall due to the "exceptionally challenging" retail environment, and its shares fell 4.8 percent.

The New York-based retailer slashed its profit view on Thursday for the fiscal second quarter ended December 27 to 67 cents per share, compared with its previous call for a per-share profit of 77 cents. Coach earned 69 cents a share in the year-earlier period.

Sales at established North American stores dropped 13 percent during the quarter.

Coach Chief Executive Lew Frankfort said "the unprecedented retail climate" dampened traffic to stores and discouraged browsers from buying its full-priced products, particularly in the weeks leading up to Christmas.

"Despite the heavily promotional environment, we maintained our retail prices, protecting our brand proposition," Frankfort said.

Coach said second-quarter sales fell 2 percent to $960 million from $978 million a year earlier, missing the company's prior call for sales of $1.05 billion.

Shares in Coach, which had finished down 3.1 percent to $20.90 on the New York Stock Exchange, fell to $19.90 in extended trade.

(Reporting by Lisa Baertlein)