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“It’s all about product-driven growth. Consumers are more interested in true value products which Tumi is all about.“ |
Eric Gusman Senior Vice President International Tumi |
US. The launch earlier this year of two new collections from Tumi has contributed to make 2010 a stellar year of travel retail sales growth for the 35-year-old US lifestyle accessories brand.
Talking to The Moodie Report at the 2010 TFWA World Exhibition in October on the firm’s newly designed stand, Senior Vice President International Eric Gusman said Tumi’s travel retail sales had shown +30% growth year-on-year. All regions (Tumi is present in 67 countries) are showing the same exponential growth.
Growth had been spurred by the launch of two new ranges dedicated to the world of travel: the Vapor collection of lightweight polycarbonate items, and Alpha Bravo, an extension to the company’s signature Alpha range of products.
For the new Vapor range, Tumi has teamed up with the urban art of graffiti pioneer John “Crash” Matos, whose distinctive designs are emblazoned across the luggage pieces.
The Crash Tumi Tag Limited Edition, which will be launched in March 2011, consists of 1,000 collector’s pieces in four styles. Only Tumi retail boutiques, including the many travel retail stores Tumi has established in major international airports, and the best shop-in-shops and corners in the most prestigious department stores will be allocated a few units of this limited edition.
Meanwhile, the new Alpha Bravo collection is targeted at a “younger, more casual, urban, on-the-go” customer, according to Gusman. Trendy backpacks are among the stand-out pieces of this new range.
“It’s all about product-driven growth. Consumers are more interested in true value products which Tumi is all about,” said Gusman, who has spent the past 25 years of his career specialising in the luggage and leathergoods industry.
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Tumi’s booth at the 2010 TFWA World Exhibition featured its new interior design concept, inspired by the glamour of travel |
Fresh design for Tumi/Ducati range
Having reinstated its earlier partnership with Ducati, Tumi is introducing a bag collection for the top Italian racing motorcycle brand with a fresh design. Gusman describes the upcoming Tumi/Ducati range as “a travel business collection of urban gear” whose designs are “relaxed, with technical innovation”. It will be launched in Fall 2011.
“Tumi is known for engineered products and linking with performance brands. The Tumi/Ducati collection will be top quality in signature black and red colours. It will combine US engineering and European styling,” he added.
Another innovation for the company’s best-selling Alpha Collection is customisation. Customers can now get their Alpha bags personalised in just 15 minutes in Tumi domestic stores – a service that will soon be rolled out in its travel retail flagship stores in airport locations such as Hong Kong, London and Frankfurt.
Speaking about the general direction of the Tumi brand, Gusman stated that the company has gone from being “the best luggage brand to the premium lifestyle accessories brand”, adding that 75% of Tumi units sold were in the accessories category.
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Top: The Villa collection for Spring 2011; Above left: Voyageur, Spring 11; Above right: Vapor, Spring 11 | |
To emphasise both the travel-friendly nature of the products and the wide variety, Gusman went around the exhibition stand pointing to robustly built business cases; multi-usage backpacks; super-cool urban bags; small leathergoods and belts; and electronic accessories.
Also at Cannes, Tumi showcased its new eyewear collection, which features upscale Zeiss lenses and has a technical focus, in line with the brand’s engineered bag ranges.
“We listen to our loyal customers, who are frequent business travellers, and we extend our lines for them. We want to minimise stress for frequent travellers and make their lives easier,” observed Gusman, noting the “great organisation” inside the bags as an example.
Pinpointing what is most important to the brand, Gusman concluded: “Tumi is about design, not fashion. We want to produce best in class products and services for the most demanding customers. Service quality is number one at Tumi, so customers are willing to buy again.”
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