Coach Chairman and Chief Executive Lew Frankfort is upbeat about the health of his company, despite an outlook that came in below analysts' estimates.
Shares of the high-end accessory maker plunged around 12 percent on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday.
"We're held to a very high standard," Frankfort told CNBC.
"There's a microscopic analysis of everything we do, and this is just a single metric. Same-store sales only represent about 30 percent of our global sales, and we have a very broad and diversified business model, and we can easily weather a reduction."
Net income for the company's fiscal first quarter rose to $154.8 million, or 41 cents per share, up from $125.6 million, or 34 cents per share, a year earlier.
For the current quarter, Coach predicted earnings of 68 cents per share; analysts were looking for 70 cents.
The company stood by its forecast of $2.06 per share for the full year 2008, but analysts had been expecting $2.08.
Is it unusually warm fall weather or a cooling U. S. economy that's to blame?
"If you are not buying a new fall outfit," said Needham analyst Christine Chen, "then you probably will not buy a bag or shoes to match it."
CEO Frankfort isn't fazed: "Weather is temporary," he said. "Macro-environmental factors are longer term."