Tumi recently opened its 40th store in travel retail at New York’s LaGuardia Airport, featuring the brand’s new CFX collection. The line was first introduced at the recent TFWA World Exhibition in October.
Located in the landside retail area of Terminal B, the 1,200sq ft space features Tumi’s distinctive white and ebony colour scheme and its signature red accents.
The premium travel and lifestyle accessories brand has partnered with American manufacturer Carbitex to transform a traditionally hard-side material into an 11-piece collection of soft carbon fibre travel bags and accessories.
CFX is constructed from CX6, an exclusive, flexible soft carbon fibre that is intricately woven and engineered at one of the oldest weaving mills in the USA by using a five-step process including a wet infusion. The result is a dense, abrasion-resistant material which helps to preserve the purity and durability of carbon fibre’s charcoal sleek finish, Tumi said.
The carbon base material can be traced to the same grade of carbon fibre used in high-performance industries such as aerospace, performance planes, race cars, luxury yachts and cycling.
“The Tumi consumer is a fan of the brand because of our commitment to innovation, part of which is finding new materials that offer a true performance advantage and that let us design products that offer superior functionality and quality,” said Tumi Chief Merchandising Officer Alan Krantzler.
“Carbitex has co-created this exclusive, innovative material in their soft carbon fibre fabric that is equally revolutionary as it is sleek and cool. The CFX collection will offer beautifully made bags from one of the strongest and most coveted materials available today.”
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CFX is a stylist 11-piece collection of soft carbon fibre travel bags and accessories |
Carbitex CEO Junus Khan added: “Tumi’s unwavering focus on material innovation presented Carbitex with a unique platform to develop a flexible carbon fibre composite without equal. Unlike rigid carbon fibre composites that are typically impregnated with one type of resin and cured, Tumi’s requirements necessitated an engineered solution with several different materials to be incorporated into carbon fibre. The result is five distinct processes including multiple cure phases. Carbitex’s carbon fibere technology showcased in Tumi’s CFX line represents a new realm of high-performance applications for carbon fibre, with Tumi at the forefront.”
CFX will be available in 11 styles across wheeled travel, soft travel and day bags, including the Silverstone International Carry-On, Adelaide Soft Duffel and Indianapolis Slim Brief.
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“Tumi has always been, and will continue to be, obsessed with technical innovation“ |
Geoffrey Gysin Senior Vice President EMEA Tumi |
Taking cues from Tumi’s premium Astor collection, each silhouette is adorned with leather detailing, custom-designed metal hardware and a monogrammable patch framed with a bevelled edge. The interior of travel and day bag styles feature a jacquard lining.
Small leather goods such as the Double Billfold and Large Zip-Around Travel Wallet will be introduced into the line and enhanced with Tumi ID Lock, a protective feature exclusive to the brand which shields against the transmission of one’s personal information. ID Lock is identified by a red pocket on the interior of selected styles.
Speaking to The Moodie Report in Cannes, Tumi Senior Vice President of Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) Geoffrey Gysin said CFX reflects Tumi’s heritage of design excellence. “Tumi has always been, and will continue to be, obsessed with technical innovation,” he stressed. “We are the only brand that can make carbon fibre malleable and soft enough to be able to use in this context.”
Besides technical innovation, Tumi’s success has also been driven by its ability to anticipate trends, according to Gysin. The demand for lightweight products continues to be strong, but he is also seeing an increase in uptake of four-wheeled models and hands-free styles – backpacks, totes and cross body. Modern consumers also have more devices – laptops, tablets, music players, smartphones, etc. – which necessitate the provision of more compartments, Gysin noted.
On top of functionality, consumers are also looking more at style and personalisation. In recent years Tumi has broadened its offer by adding more colour and exciting styles, as well as intensifying its focus on women’s business and travel items. “We offer our female customers fashionable styles that they want with the quality and innovation that comes with every Tumi product,” Gysin said.
Tumi’s Alpha Bravo collection of soft, unstructured and more casual business and travel designs is one of the brand’s fastest growing lines, indicating a broadening of consumer tastes. The brand is also appealing to the trend of personalisation by offering monogramming services and a range of Tumi Accents kits.
For 2015 Tumi’s collections will feature a strong Hawaiian theme, Gysin revealed. The year also marks Tumi’s 40th anniversary, and the brand will commemorate the special occasion with the 1975 Collection, which will feature leather designs from Tumi’s archives.
“Trends are more than just about weight and wheels; they’re very much about lifestyle and how people see themselves. Consumers want products that reflect their own lifestyle – no one wants to be put into the generic box,” Gysin stressed.
Looking back on 2014, he noted that the fashion accessories and luggage categories have seen strong growth in travel retail, with Tumi performing “exceptionally well”. The brand has secured spaces in key airport and downtown duty free locations, including Kaohsiung and Kinmen in Taiwan; Changsha Huanghua, Haitang Bay and Haikou in China; Tokyo Haneda; Kuala Lumpur; Singapore Changi; and JFK Terminal 4 and most recently LaGuardia Airport in New York.
“We need to keep proving ourselves and get more space and show more and more of our category in each of these locations,” Gysin stressed. “For us the minimum presentation we look for is a corner, but what we would like to achieve in all the airport hubs are mono-brand stores, without a shadow of a doubt.”
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Tumi’s new LaGuardia Airport location featured the brand’s new CFX collection |
