Prologue: Founded in 1975 by American entrepreneur Charlie Clifford, a former Peace Corp volunteer who used to import leather bags from South America (hence the brand name – Tumis are Peruvian ceremonial knives with semicircular blades), Tumi has grown into a powerhouse international lifestyle and travel brand.
While its luggage business in particular was hard hit by the global pandemic, a concerted innovation programme married to compelling brand collaborations and a multi-dimensional focus on style, functionality and durability sees the brand in robust health with first-half net sales up +21.7% on pre-crisis 2019.
Travel retail is playing a key role in Tumi’s stellar recent performance as Martin Moodie discovered when he caught up recently with Vice President, APAC & Middle East Adam Hershman.
Conducting an interview inside the Tumi boutique at Harbour City in Hong Kong’s bustling Tsim Sha Tsui district is like watching a microcosm of the Chinese travel recovery.
While I chat with the brand’s Vice President, APAC & Middle East Adam Hershman and learn how the lifestyle to travel goods brand is flying high in his regions of responsibility, the store is buzzing with Mainland Chinese consumers drawn by the latest collections in the eclectic Tumi range.
The throng of shoppers in the shopping mall, many of them Mainlanders, is testament to a rebounding market, Hershman says. “As you can see, the hallway is packed with people and there are lots of folks coming into the store. It’s exciting,” he comments. “You’re seeing lots of energy now.”
And that energy is translating to spend. During the ensuing 40 minutes or so, several premium-priced Tumi sling bags and cases are sold to customers amid a steady flow of browsers into the store.
Tumi travel cases displayed in the store across a myriad of styles, sizes, textures and colours, may have been one of the obvious commercial victims of the COVID-19 pandemic but with international travel resurgent, they and less-affected lines are enjoying a return to the good times.
To the uninitiated, the sheer diversity of Tumi products and the variations within specific categories is eye-opening. Here’s a brand on a growth mission, one underpinned by core values of durability, sustainability, functionality and style.
Acquired by Samsonite International in early 2016 in a blockbuster US$1.8 billion deal, Tumi generated worldwide net sales of US$421.1 million in the first half of 2023, up +51.7% year-on-year on a constant currency basis. All regions witnessed strong growth, including a resurgent Asia where net sales rose +86.6% year-on-year.
While those figures have to be seen in the context of a COVID-affected 2022, Tumi’s robust health is underlined by the fact that global net first-half sales in the period were +21.7% ahead of the comparative pre-pandemic period in 2019.
That impressive performance contributed strongly to what Samsonite International described as an “amazing” groupwide half-year adjusted EBITDA of US$334.3 million. The bounce back of travel within Asia played a key role, driven partly by strong advertising support behind Tumi and heavy investment in expanding its market penetration.
Innovation agenda
Tumi’s new Fall 2023 collections occupy pride of place in the Harbour City store, including updated Alpha collections dubbed Alpha X and Alpha Hybrid. The renowned range is traditionally made with FXT ballistic nylon, a proprietary fabric that dates back to 1983. However, Alpha X – described as Tumi’s strongest softside collection to date – features PX6, a new ultra-durable fabric which combines strength with thermal stability.
“It’s really next-level innovation from [Tumi Creative Director] Victor Sanz and the design team,” Hershman points out. “It’s a special kind of grey and white hue, easy to match, and has a few more luxury touches to it.
“You can see that with the zipper puller, the zippers themselves and some of the accents. The hardware on the luggage tag is all plushed up. This is new for this season and the response has been really positive.
“A lot of our customers who are into our brand know that it is something very special whenever the Alpha collection gets updated. So this is a big deal, and you’ll see this communicated throughout the season.”
The innovation doesn’t stop there. The women’s assortment features an array of new colours, underlining the company’s confidence in the sector. “Women’s is one of the parts within our assortment that’s been doing very well over the last several years,” says Hershman.
“Tumi is known more as a men’s brand but we’ve really established ourselves and gained a lot of credibility in the women’s space.”
That growing popularity was underlined recently by US actress, singer and songwriter Reneé Rapp’s second collaboration with the brand. She is starring in Tumi’s ‘Essentially Beautiful’ campaign for the new Georgica collection of women’s leather handbags, minimalist backpacks, totes, and carryalls in rich pebbled leather.
Hershman highlights the Georgica collection as further evidence of the brand’s diverse and innovative DNA. “I’m really excited about this because people are looking for comfort, they’re looking for lightweight, but they’re also looking for function,” he observes.
“Maybe we didn’t hit all of those marks in the past, but now you really see this collection combining all of those elements. That’s why I think the collection has had such a warm response so far.
“You notice the interesting colours that are unique, but they’re not so far from what you could wear every day, and that’s what makes Tumi really special. You have expressions in pebbled leather and you have leather that’s not treated in the same way – more of a straight, plain-looking leather for different tastes and purposes. All lightweight, all durable, all filled with the function that people love from Tumi.”
There’s something for all tastes and needs in-store. The 19 Degree collection – so named due to the angle of the exterior accents – features lightweight, expandable suitcases made from polycarbonate wrapped in a special film to reflect light as the bag moves. The nylon Voyageur collection offers a suitably light, travel-oriented range that embraces carry-on travel kits, backpacks and wristlets.
Hershman enthusiastically shows me a piece from the 19 Degree Aluminum collection, an aluminium Rolling Trunk. “The real beauty of this is the design, it’s just a really amazing, eye-catching, timeless aesthetic. It’s really cool.”
Clearly consumers agree. Hard-side suitcases are particularly popular in Asia, he points out. “The 19 Degree collection is very Tumi in the sense that it combines the industrial with the natural with the practical. When you see it, you get that feeling of running water, or a mountain range, or maybe of a skyscraper that has a similar kind of detailing.
“That’s all part of the magic of the product and it has lots of functions. It has expansion, it’s lightweight and the wheels are super durable. These colours and this design have been doing famously well for us over the last several years since being introduced and we have a new finish for this season.”
Focus on sustainability
The various collections offer a rich array of colours and textual variations, from shiny pearlized finishes to more textured design. “It’s really a matter of taste. Everyone comes to me with a story of a Tumi bag they’ve had for like 20 years,” says Hershman. “One of the things that we’ve always had as a brand value is long-lasting quality.
“The bags we make have always fitted into a category of products that are more sustainable, simply because they last so long. I think that’s one of the key ingredients of being sustainable.
“But as technologies have improved and material technology evolves, we’ve also been able to incorporate different materials that are more sustainable in their nature and with this 19 Degree collection in polycarbonate, we’ve been able to do that both with the lining and the material on the outside.
“Here we have been able to incorporate recycled materials into the exterior and interior material to enhance what we do but without compromising the quality. That’s key. We can never lose that piece of our DNA. Anything we put into the bag must be able to perform at the same high level.”
Does such impressive durability affect repeat sales, I ask? After all, I have owned a Tumi shoulder bag for over a decade and like it so much I would hesitate to change it.
“It’s a question I get a lot,” Hershman responds. “However, the average Tumi customer owns six pieces. So what we find is exactly what you just said – such loyalty makes people stickier to the brand because they have the utmost confidence in what they’re buying.
“That’s not just in terms of the product quality, but also the design and style mean it’s going to last a long time. They also feel very confident to gift the product. When you buy a Tumi gift, you know that the person who’s getting it is going to feel, ‘Wow, this is something special that I’m going to have for a very long while.’”
Whereas Tumi originally focused on business briefcases, luggage and ballistic nylon, today the range is considerably more diverse, including hard side and aluminum suitcases, backpacks, sling bags, multiple women’s lines and bags that cater to different activities such as eSports. There’s even a seven-strong fragrance range. “We have that trust with our customers; they give us permission to try different things. It’s something that we’re very proud of,” Hershman comments.
Accessorising is also key, a point exemplified in the Alpha Bravo collection of backpacks, crossbodies, slings, waist packs and duffels, which can be tailored to individual needs with an ecosystem of products known as Tumi+ Travel Accessories. These range from water bottles to dry bags, small pouches to mobile organisers.
“There’s just so much more functionality that’s being built into the brand today, and the inside of the bags also has the same kind of system. That allows the customer to control their own destiny when it comes to what functions they do and don’t want.”
Tumi plays imaginatively with different colours each season to reflect fashion trends. “The parity with the trends of ready-to-wear is something that we’ve been more and more successful with. The response to colours that are not your traditional black, gray or navy, has become much stronger,” says Hershman.
The emergence of eSports
From accessories flows personalisation, a perennial aspect of Tumi products, allowing a monogram patch or luggage tag to be tailored to the recipient in multiple colours. That need for individualism is particularly important for younger consumers, for example those involved in eSports, an audience for which Tumi offers “the ultimate backpack” equipped for any level of gamer.
The product keeps drives, wireless headphones and other gaming accessories secure within rigid and abrasion-resistant pockets; a padded compartment protects the user’s laptop, while the backpack even includes an integrated USB port.
Tumi got into eSports-related products well before COVID, noting a similarity between the habits of gamers and DJs years earlier. “Those folks were carrying around three laptops, two headphones, eight power banks etc. They were bringing their livelihood with them and they were saying it’s worth investing in something that can protect but also looks cool.
“In eSports it looked very similar. You see people travelling with two or three mice, a mechanical keyboard or two, a laptop and a Nintendo Switch. So they need a solution like this. Our participation was very well received because these folks are travelling everywhere to tournaments all over the world.”
In 2022, Tumi struck an intriguing collaboration with Razer, which claims to be the world’s leading lifestyle brand for gamers. The resultant collection, which is available in selected travel retail locations, reimagined Tumi’s bags and travel accessories in Razer’s signature black and green branding and has proven a smash hit.
“We’ve had lots of relationships with different organisations in eSports,” Hershman explains. “We’ve worked with some teams; we did the collaboration with Razer; and we have our own proprietary eSports Pro collection which has been around for several years and is a mainstay of our assortment.
“It’s lasted because we have an authentic reason to be there. It’s also helped us connect with different audiences, especially a younger clientele that sometimes is hard to reach. They tend to be super digitally savvy people and we have a good reason to be involved and help them perfect their journey. They trust us so it’s been a good initiative as a brand to move into this area.”
Our fascinating hybrid of interview and store tour continues with a look at the latest Harrison range, a popular collection with younger consumers that combines minimalism with extreme functionality.
“The design aesthetic is very clean. So you have a lot of flexibility on how and where you can wear it. You can dress it up, you can dress it down; you can bring it to work or you can bring it out. It looks smart for every kind of occasion. It has a lot of flexibility and it’s quiet luxury if you will. It’s just very clean but at the same time you’re not compromising on the function.”
As with other collections, slings and backpacks are to the fore, in the case of one Alpha Bravo piece able to be converted from one to the other. “You can’t go too far in a travel retail or domestic setting without seeing people wearing this kind of bag, especially across the front of their body,” says Hershman. “It’s just so easy to put a water bottle or your phone and keys in here and just stay organised. All these bags come with a key leash, for example.
“Maybe in the past you would have customers carrying around lots of papers and documents in a briefcase. But many started to go hands-free around 15 years ago as backpacks started to become popular. People want to use their phones with two hands and also ergonomically it’s better. Now you have people who need something that’s more compact to help them stay organised.
“This is one of the ways that Tumi continues to evolve, to meet the demands of folks and to be relevant. Why would someone come to us for new things? The answer is because their life changes and our brand and product evolve.”
Talking travel retailTravel retail – and related airport OOH advertising – are key to Tumi’s engagement with consumers worldwide, Hershman says. “Large airports are always a great place for us. They offer a natural connection for the customer and are somewhere we like to be present.” It’s a channel he knows from two sides, having spent six years with DFS Group from August 2006, an experience he deems critical to his subsequent career success. “I had some of the best mentors,” Hershman comments. “I try to take the knowledge that I was given and pass it on and attempt to be as good a steward for people and brands as the people who guided me were. I still think about the messages and the learnings from them, and try to be one piece of the overall travel retail community as best I can. “For a brand like ours, travel retail has a very important role. Our products are made for high achievers who are on the move. When they’re home with their families they don’t have time to shop. The airport is a convenient place where they do. Besides that component there’s also the brand visibility, whereby we’re able to communicate with our stores and experience. Give the customer an experience, show them the brand and its new products and have a deep tie with travel.”  “Travel retail is also an extension of our brand promise in terms of repairs and after sales service. I think that when people buy a brand and see it in the place they’re meant to be using it they feel a connection. In the same way that if you buy a pair of football boots and you see that brand advertising at the stadium, you feel a sense of connection. “I feel that’s the emotional piece of travel – i.e. what you’re bringing with you is very important, it’s sentimental. And then you see a second home in some ways for our brand. “Generally speaking, travel is on the right trajectory and brands like us benefit from that continued trajectory. Airlines are bringing capacity back across the board, lots of airports are upgrading themselves or new airports are being built. “So the attention to the travel retail industry continues to grow. You see it in Hainan as well so there’s a lot of energy around it and we’re in a great place as a brand. We treasure our role in the travel retail community and we have positioned ourselves to capitalise and be with our customers as they continue to travel more and more.” Tumi’s format in travel retail varies according to multiple factors, including location, space, retailer and concept. “Generally speaking we like to create boutique environments because that’s really where we can give the full brand experience – as mentioned we really do look at it as a place where people should truly experience the brand,” Hershman observes. “There are different formats for different types of airports but generally we like our own personalised concepts.” |
Multi-generational appeal
Key to Tumi’s current success and long-terms prospects is its ability to reach out across varying consumer demographics and geographies. “Gen Y is a very strong piece of our business, but Gen Z is also coming on very fast,” Hershman notes. “The advantage of our brand is that everyone likes to travel so it’s sort of ageless in that way – there’s no-one who I have met who doesn’t like it. Everyone can participate and everyone appreciates quality good quality, good function and timeless design.
“So Gen X knows our brand, Gen Y knows our brand and Gen Z is learning more and more about it and coming to appreciate it. It’s been very exciting to see the traction with that group.”
Hershman is understandably delighted with Tumi’s first-half performance. “We’re really excited about what the team was able to achieve in the first half of the year. The team really came together during COVID, which was a tough time. But we never stopped innovating and if you look at the brand as we came out of the pandemic at the beginning of this year, you’ve never seen such a strong product assortment, something that has been reflected in several of our marketing initiatives. So we were very much ready to come out of COVID in a strong way across Asia Pacific and Middle East.
“You’ve seen lots of pop-up activities from us over the last year. Those are really key because it’s important to get people to understand the creative ideas of Victor Sanz, the product inspiration and the brand values. It’s a special moment to do that when you have a physical representation of those ideas.
“Digital is also a very important communication platform for all brands, but there’s a lot still to be said about being in person and having that physical connection and experience that helps you to convey a much more concrete understanding of the brand values. So that’s why we’ve been doing a lot of those activations across Asia and the Middle East.”
A prime example came in Seoul, South Korea this July as Tumi celebrated its Fall 2023 collection with a dazzling pop-up experience at Lotte World Mall Atrium. The immersive experience drew inspiration from the signature contours and craftsmanship of Tumi’s 19 Degree hardside luggage, serving as the exclusive preview of the season’s full collection. The pop-up featured a locker-inspired display showcasing collectibles and merchandise signed by South Korean pro footballer and Tumi Crew Member Son Heung-min.
“Activities like this allow us to talk about the new seasonal products of our brand, explain things like hypercraft [an emphasis on the balance between technicality, functionality, quality and meticulous attention to detail – Ed] which is one of the key ideas for this season. We wanted to get that message across very clearly especially now that people are excited about travelling again, and to let people reengage with us as they’re reengaging with travel. It’s the right time to do that and it’s a lot of fun.”
Diversified product range
By definition, Tumi’s commercial fortunes offer one of the most immediate and valid indicators of the state of the global travel market, especially in suitcases. “We’re a good temperature check,” says Hershman. “But as you can see in this store with the slings, the backpacks and a lot of bags, our brand has broadened, and has a pretty broad spectrum of application beyond travel. It’s very much a day-to-day as well as a travel brand.”
He cites the Tahoe collection, a range of products including backpacks, duffels, messenger bags and slings, whose utilitarian designs are intended to capture the freedom of movement between work, travel and the outdoors. “If you look at some of the big trends that came out of COVID, one was an active lifestyle. That’s never going away. So bags like this are really important because they have such good functionality.”
That includes a wet pocket for shoes or clothes as well as the flexibility to hold the user’s gym or casual weekend clothes while having a separate compartment specifically made for iPad or laptop. “The customer is looking for that,” says Hershman. “They’re doing so much more that they want that flexibility. Active lifestyle is something we are really leading and because of the kind of performance luxury brand we are, we have the credibility and consumer permission to do so.”
While sales of larger suitcases fell during the pandemic, the travel rebound has in turn mirrored itself in the category. “Coming out of COVID, you start to see a substantial movement, especially since people are taking more leisure trips to reunite with family and going away for a longer chunk of time,” Hershman notes. “So we saw business with large suitcases really bouncing back.”
Tumi’s values were actually enhanced by the pandemic, Hershman says. The company, like most of the world, reflected deeply during the crisis, opting to double down on its core values surrounding innovation, product quality, sustainability and performance.
“Maybe the execution is different since COVID but the philosophy is the same. It’s about having incredibly high-quality and trustworthy products in terms of performance standards and style. I’m particularly proud of the team for really staying true to what we are all about. Sometimes the expressions change and the materials evolve but there’s really no difference in what we’re trying to do and who we’re trying to be.”
Creative collaborations
Over recent times, an eclectic set of brand collaborations has helped Tumi reach out to new consumer groups as well as offering something fresh for existing customers. In April Tumi launched a limited-edition McLaren 60th Anniversary Collection, celebrating six decades since the founding of the motorsports team and supercar maker.
The collection was unveiled along with the final instalment of the brand’s Spring 2023 ‘Unpack Tomorrow’ campaign, featuring McLaren Formula 1 driver Lando Norris.
Leveraging the allure of names such as Norris, Reneé Rapp and Son Heung-min has been integral to Tumi’s communication drive to build awareness and deeper connectivity with consumers, Hershman says. “The common theme here is that the people we associate with have shared values with Tumi.
“In the case of McLaren it’s obviously performance. In the case of Son it’s about people who are at the top of their field, high achievers but also terrific people who we like to work with and who are good role models as well.”
Hershman saves his final word for the travel retail sector. “Tumi is really proud to be part of such an innovative industry with such high standards,” he comments. “If you look at the last ten years, the evolution of this industry has been tremendous. It’s always been a great community to be a part of. We’re surrounded by quality innovation and quality people who want to deliver the best possible experience.
“As the industry has come out of COVID, you have seen a lot of improvements in the overall experience. As the [aviation] industry continues to remove barriers, especially convenience barriers, and makes the experience more seamless, people will continue to be more attracted to it. Here in Hong Kong, for example, we have facial recognition. If you’re a Hong Kong resident you just need the QR code to get through airport security.
“The airport environment there is very beautiful and there’s lots of wonderful food offers. And by offering better experiences, retailers or brands can help the whole industry become more attractive to the customer. That’s really what it’s all about, the consumer, the people who are using our services.
“I think all of us have done an incredible job to weather a hugely difficult time and come out of it better than we’ve ever been and on the right track to continue to exceed people’s expectations. ✈
