Late last year, Coach chief executive Todd Kahn was shopping for a hostess gift at a European luxury brand’s store in Naples, Fla. After purchasing a few hundred dollars worth of soaps and other elevated essentials, he asked the sales associate for a ribbon to tie around the bag.
To his astonishment, the request was denied — ribbons, they said, were only available to customers who had bought a certain tier of product.
“If that happened in any Coach store, I would go crazy,” said…

