The FTC's complaint outlines that Coach, Kate Spade, and Michael Kors are vying for similar consumers, and that a merger would eliminate opportunities for discounts, innovation, and wage increases for the two companies' 33,000 employees that a competitive market encourages. The competition is most fierce in the luxury handbag market—that Coach and Kate Spade occupy—which was worth $31.87 billion in 2023, according to Precedence Research.