Introduction: “Realising high turnover with a small footprint is important in physical retail everywhere, but nowhere is the pressure as high as in travel retail. Fortunately, this is exactly where Secrid shines.” So says Secrid Global Business Development Director Oscar Menzel as he underlines the recruitment power and conversion potential of the Dutch wallet brand in global travel retail.
Founded in 1995, Secrid describes itself as ‘a family business built on creativity and driven by values’. The brand was started by René Van Geer and Marianne van Sasse van Ysselt with the mission of reimagining the traditional wallet format for the age of electronic payment systems.
Van Geer and Van Sasse van Ysselt combined their fashion and product design knowledge to create the world’s first fully sustainable and traceable Secrid Cardprotector, which is now available across 8,500 stores globally.
All of Secrid’s products are produced in The Netherlands, made with sustainable materials and manufactured by social enterprises. The brand foregoes traditional advertising and instead relies on word-of-mouth marketing. It achieved B Corp certification in 2022. Menzies adds: “The success of Secrid over the past 15 years has proven that it is possible to not only succeed but flourish as a brand following this philosophy.”
In this interview, Menzel talks about the USPs of Secrid, how sustainability and ethical responsibility informs every aspect of its business, and its mission to create a positive impact on both people and planet.
Can you tell us the story of how Secrid began and the ethos behind it?
Secrid is a Dutch brand known for wallets featuring patented aluminium Cardprotectors. Launched in 2009, Secrid represented a complete redesign of the traditional wallet that recognised the need to safely and easily store cards more so than cash.
Since then, we’ve sold millions of Secrid wallets and the design has been an inspiration to many, almost becoming a new industry standard. What is still less known is the story behind the brand.
Secrid was born from the desire to create a product that embodies the design philosophy of our two founders: Marianne and Rene. While running their design agency for decades, the designers saw that the business practices of the day, such as outsourcing to low-labour-cost countries and the focus on cheap and disposable products, were having a negative impact on our planet and communities. As product designers working in an agency environment, they could see this but were not in the position to change it.
When the 2008 financial crisis hit, the agency work dried up and so Marianne and Rene saw this as the opportunity to fulfil a lifelong dream: to build a brand that embodied their design philosophy.
This meant producing all our products in The Netherlands, using only European materials and assembling everything with social enterprises. It meant designing a quality product that would last for years rather than one that needed to be replaced regularly. It meant creating a product that was so remarkable that it would not need to be advertised but spread through word of mouth.
The success of Secrid over the past 15 years has proven that it is possible to not only succeed, but flourish as a brand following this philosophy.
Secrid proudly remains a family-owned and operated company, able to make its own choices and pursue its mission of using product design and business as a force for good. We invite everyone to join us in this mission.
Can you give us an overview of Secrid’s current presence in the channel? Where is the brand available currently, in which regions and with what retailers?
Although we have a global presence, Secrid’s presence is strongest in the European market. We’re present at all major airports in Europe with local companies as well as global players like Lagardère Travel Retail, DFS Group and Gebr. Heinemann.
We’ve chosen to partner with flag carriers and premium airlines such as Lufthansa and Swiss Air for inflight sales, where our products have been consistently among the bestsellers onboard.
Secrid believes in working together long term. Our Lufthansa Upcycling wallet is a nice example of this. When Lufthansa was updating their corporate identity, we worked with them to upcycle some of their obsolete materials and designed a limited-edition wallet made from the left-over headrests of Lufthansa planes. The project was a great show of our collaboration and the collection sold out in just a few days.
Since its inception – sustainability has been at the heart of Secrid. Can you tell us the concrete ways you are implementing sustainable practices across your business operations?
Where to begin? Secrid has always produced locally. Our entire production takes place in Europe, which minimises the impact of transport. Working 100% within the EU means complying with the strictest environmental and labour laws in the world. It also means we have a very direct control over quality. We can also minimise waste in the production process, while ensuring a quality product that will serve customers for many years.
Production is only one piece of the puzzle though. The way we sell and service our products is just as important.
Over the last two years, we set up over 1,000 Care and Repair points, among which many are in travel retail. These retail partners can repair our products, free of charge, if ever a customer has a problem. This gives the customer a great opportunity to bond with brand and retailer. We believe the chance to repair rather than replace products is also a fundamental step towards a more sustainable world.
This way of thinking has been a cornerstone of the Secrid brand from the very start in 1995, but we continuously learn and improve together with the industry. Making our products with recycled aluminium using hydropower would not have been possible when we started the company 15 years ago. Now we are proud to do so.
In recent years, the world at large has started to realise the importance of sustainability and a framework has developed to measure and prove such practices. We believe this is a very desirable development, which is why we also formally became a B Corp-certified company.
What is your overall vision for Secrid in travel retail? Do you see the channel as more of a showcase or sales driver?
Very much both. Travel retail has the eyes of the world upon it. As a global brand, with a story to tell, this is the place to make it happen. There is no other place so many people from so many backgrounds come together and have a chance to meet new brands and stories.
On top of that, travel retail has proven one of the most effective sales channels for Secrid. Our products not only perfectly fit the traveller’s needs, but they also actually attract a broad audience from different backgrounds and ages.
Realising high turnover with a small footprint is important in physical retail everywhere, but nowhere is the pressure as high as in travel retail. Fortunately, this is exactly where Secrid shines.
What are your priorities in terms of geography and channel (cruise/inflight/downtown duty free)? Can you give us some insight into your expansion plans?
Airports have the highest priority for us. Our products are perfectly suited for this high-pressure retail space. Our brand has always seen the great value of reaching our customers through physical retail. With 8,500 retail stores selling our brand globally in the domestic market, we are looking to build the same success in travel retail.
We’ll work closely with our partners throughout the world to make Secrid a staple brand at every airport. At the same time, our premium airline partners are real ambassadors and have been for years. We will continue to build our bestselling inflight exclusive collection with them.
During the last TFWA World Exhibition in Cannes, Secrid debuted an innovative truck retailing concept – can you tell us more about this project and where we can expect to see it in travel retail?
This is our customised Piaggio Ape pop-up. During the 2023 Christmas season, the Secrid Piaggio Ape was in one of the most beautiful locations in our industry, at Fondacio dei Tedeschi, DFS Group’s flagship department store in Venice, where it hosted an upcycling event with a local street artist. It’s an absolute dream to see our little Ape on the ground floor of this incredible building.
There are some great pop-up locations in the pipeline that I cannot reveal yet. But let’s say, frequent travellers might very well meet our pop-up in person in 2024.
What are your biggest priorities for the year ahead?
We believe this industry can be a global leader. It is an industry that knows it must transform and reinvent itself to meet the needs of the world of tomorrow. As it does so, the world will be watching and follow its example.
In travel retail, we see the positive energy and willingness to make this transformation like nowhere else. Our priority is to work with our partners to make sure Secrid has a strong global presence in this channel to tell our story and to help make this transformation happen. ✈
