CNN -- Lew Frankfort is widely credited with helping transform a stodgy old leather goods company into a fashion icon . Coach was founded in New York City in 1941 , an old-world firm cranking out hard leather brief cases . But it was n't until a major overhaul in the 1990 's that the company caught the eyes of the fashion world , introducing so-called `` affordable luxury '' . Lew Frankfort , CEO , Coach . Since then , Lew Frankfort has expanded the brand from trendy hand bags to gloves , and other accessories , bringing his by-the-numbers management style to the fickle world of fashion . CNN 's Maggie Lake interviewed Lew Frankfort and started by asking him what had prepared him for a life in the fashion world and how much he cared about clothes and trends in his youth . Frankfort : When I was young I did n't have the slightest clue about brands . I actually was more interested in the social movements of the 1960 's , the civil rights movement , the anti-war movement and found myself in government actually for ten years after college before I came to Coach . Lake : So , how did you make the transition to the world of fashion ? Frankfort : What I joined was really just a manufacturer of leather products . Over the years , we migrated to become a modern lifestyle fashion accessories brand and I guess I just learned along the way . Lake : How do you stay on top in a very fickle world of fashion because that 's what you 're dealing with now ? Frankfort : One of the ways we think at Coach is as a company that is run as a blend of logic and magic . Magic is the touch and feel and instinct of good product , good looking product , of understanding trends , and logic is using all of the knowledge that is available to you , so you can really understand where consumers are today and where they 're going tomorrow . So , for example , we do a considerable amount of quantitative research , measuring attitudes and trends in the marketplace , purchase satisfaction and satisfaction with our visits . Lake : Some people said that you have democratized luxury , made it accessible to more people . Is that how you see it ? Frankfort : We actually see Coach as an egalitarian brand . America is really a melting pot of the world and we do n't have a class system in America . Anyone can be anything in America . Lake : Is there a risk by making your products very accessible that somehow you cheapen them ? I mean if everybody has it , what 's so special about it ? Frankfort : Some consumers perceive us as the penultimate luxury and other consumers step down to buy a Coach . We like it that way , and we like to have a broad array of price points that can appeal to an aspirational consumer who can just enter the world of Coach with a small accessory for as little as $ 28 , or to the aficionado we offer $ 10,000 exotic handbags . Lake : Do you think that recipe can work globally ? Frankfort : It is working globally . We are very successful in Japan , in Korea , and emerging markets such as Thailand and Indonesia and in developing countries . We 're a very desirable alternative to the European luxury brands because our price points are less than half of their price points ; yet , the materials are the very same materials that go into their products and ours are at least as well-made . Lake : What do you worry about ? What keeps you up at night ? Frankfort : Honestly , everything keeps me up at night , but I think I am primarily a serial worrier . I worry about the current situation and more often than not now it 's about people , it 's about the next generation in leadership , it 's about how I can fill organizational voids . E-mail to a friend .
Lew Frankfort , CEO of Coach talks to CNN 's Maggie Lake . Transformed an old-world company into global luxury brand . Appeals to both aspiratonal and wealthy consumers .