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Avi Levin (left) and Jonathan Smith: Travel Blue is positioning itself as a ‘one stop shop’ for travel accessories in the channel |
“We want to be the one-stop shop for the technology accessories business in travel retail. We are offering a coherent concept in what has been a very fragmented category.”
That’s how Travel Blue Managing Director Avi Levin describes his company’s aspirations in the travel channel, as the company expands its technology accessories concept. The company began life trading in travel accessories such as travel pillows over 25 years ago, but in recent year has expanded into loudspeakers, headphones (including Bluetooth-compatible), phone covers, power banks, chargers, adaptors and cables, each in a variety of styles and colours. The brand is now present in over 105 countries.
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From brand to concept: How Travel Blue is aiming to stand out in-store |
Levin said: “Until recently technology accessories has not been a very coherent category in travel retail. You could count three, four, maybe even up to ten different suppliers of chargers, cables, adaptors or other items. Because of this, the presentation of product has not been uniform, there are very different margin structures for different items, the retailer faces issues around minimum orders from these multiple suppliers, and that lack of focus has been reflected in the offer.
“Our idea was to bring coherence to the category. We decided that we could give retailers the “˜one-stop shop’ that can help build the category, and through our merchandising solutions can make their lives easier.
“Importantly also, when you offer a concept such as ours, you offer a clear picture to the consumer too. Whether it’s the digital area, or headphones or phone covers, they can quickly assess what they like, whether the price point works and make a quick buying decision.”
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The latest headphone ranges and (below) merchandising options |
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The company said that its solutions are not incompatible with retailers’ desire to include big brands in the consumer electronics portfolio.
Travel Blue Director of Travel Retail Jonathan Smith said: “Whether it’s Sony or Bose or other brands, we know there are consumers who aspire to these and who will pay for them in travel retail. We offer entry level items (Bluetooth headphones are available at around US$70 -Ed), but we do that from a strong position too: with our long history in the trade we too are established as a brand.”
Levin noted that many travellers are not going to spend hundreds of Dollars on premium products when they travel. “A lot of people are not attracted by the travel retail offer, across all categories. It’s about having a wide offer that caters to everyone. The people who buy Travel Blue headphones one year might also aspire to buying a branded set of headphones at a higher price a year or two later, and that is fine. But why not present the option to them so we get more travellers spending?”
Travel Blue is targeting all sales channels, with particular items adapted for inflight, and a broad retail offer and merchandising displays for airports. “We have grown our business worldwide,” said Levin. “We started in the UK, and now we have subsidiary companies in Germany, Russia, China, India, UAE, USA, so we can be as close to the clients as possible. In China alone we are in 45 of the top 50 airports by passenger traffic. And looking at The Moodie Report’s Top Travel Retailers report, we are present with 13 of the 15 biggest players globally.”
Smith said: “Crucially, we know we can drive average sales higher in those locations where we are present. A few years ago, retailers needed some convincing of the contribution travel accessories could make, and they weren’t seen as a “˜sexy’ product. Once we were given that chance, things have taken off.”
The ubiquity of the accessories category should also make it a compelling retail proposition, said Travel Blue. “Everyone carries a mobile phone,” said Levin, “everyone needs to be charged and connected, yet this category has not reached its potential, and in some cases is not given the attention it deserves. We think we can revive this category by removing the clutter and mixed messages, and housing it in an easy to understand, uniform way. We can now talk in terms of our brand and our concept, not just our product. And that approach has worked very successfully.”
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The company’s portfolio, which began with travel pillows more than 25 years ago, now features a broad range of merchandise catering to a variety of needs | |
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