Miles Cahn, Co-Founder of Coach Handbags, Dies at 95 -<br />Miles Cahn, who with his wife founded the Coach Leatherware Company, which helped redefine the American handbag as both chic<br />and practical, died on Friday at his home in Manhattan.<br />While they built their business, the Cahns also became involved in civic causes,<br />including the New York Public Library and the Food Bank for New York City.<br />Mr. Cahn and his wife, Lillian Cahn, founded Coach in 1961 after buying a small wallet manufacturer on West 34th Street and renaming it.<br />Mr. Cahn graduated from the City College of New York and later served in the Army during World War II.<br />“In New York, there were a lot of handbag companies, and at that time stores were all buying knockoffs of bags made in Europe.<br />After selling Coach, the Cahns established the 600-acre Coach Farm in Gallatinville,<br />N. Y., in Columbia County, where they made fresh and aged goat cheeses.<br />In 1985, the Cahns sold the company to Sara Lee Corporation for a reported $30 million.<br />During the 1960s the Cahns actively protested the war in Vietnam, including buying an ad in The Times addressed<br />to President Nixon, according to autobiographical notes that Mr. Cahn had prepared before his death.
