As the Creative Director of TUMI, Victor Sanz is responsible for creating well-designed, travel-friendly cases and bags that are functional, aesthetically pleasing and ahead of the curve. He speaks to Gayatri Bhaumik about how he designs these bags and the travel trends he’s noticed recently.
How is TUMI incorporating the needs of business travellers into its designs?
We strive to discover and learn from our customers and understand what they’re looking for in their daily lives and when travelling. We challenge ourselves each season to add the features that make the journey even more pleasurable, such as organisation and power incorporated into our travel pieces. In our Alpha 3 collection, we’ve incorporated USB ports, specific compartments for power-banks, laptops and tablets, and dual entry to the main compartment, allowing quick access to your belongings through the front lid.
How have business travellers’ demands for luggage changed over the last few years?
Many of our customers are travelling for work with their TUMI bags and need to go straight to events, meetings and conferences. It’s important to feel comfortable and confident when walking into an event knowing that you look clean and sleek, especially coming straight from the plane. Additionally, many of our business travellers have to travel with multiple suits so providing a space to fit suits and keep them from getting creased is very important.
What trends are you noticing among travellers these days?
Travel has become fashionable again in recent years. It’s a standard in business and in life, so customers are looking for those pieces that become an extension of their persona and serve more than just utilitarian purposes. customers have also been interested in super lightweight pieces, which we’ve answered with new travel collection launches in recent years – specifically, the Latitude collection in 2017 and recently, the v4 series.
TUMI is using a lot of interesting materials like ballistic nylon and recycled materials. What does this add to the user experience?
One of the things that TUMI prides itself on is always pushing itself further. Whether that’s creating lighter weight products that still meet the brand’s high standards or if it’s looking at how our consumers’ lives have changed and addressing those needs with simple solutions. Sustainability is a concept that has always been woven into everything we do at TUMI, and with the introduction of our recycled materials, we’re taking the next step in pushing that agenda forward. We constantly seek out new opportunities to increase the sustainability of our products by using more responsible and environmentally-friendly materials.
TUMI’s Alpha 3 Double Expansion Satchel in Black Chrome
A lot of luggage companies are doing smart bags. Will TUMI be doing anything similar?
As a leader in creating innovative travel solutions, TUMI is always looking for new ways to simplify and perfect our customers’ journey, while ensuring that our products exceed their expectations and fit seamlessly into their everyday lives. In today’s digital world of connected devices, smartphones and tablet, we see a great opportunity to support our consumers’ desire to remain connected to all parts of their lives, including the luggage and bags they use day-to-day. In our Alpha 3 Collection, launched earlier this year, we have incorporated aspects such as integrated USB power ports and pockets designed specifically for power-banks to accommodate our customers’ growing need to stay connected.
Have you seen any differences in what APAC travellers want and what those in other parts of the world expect?
At TUMI we design for global citizens and we strive to create designs that are timeless. We dedicate ourselves to understanding those customers and the lives that they live, whether that be in APAC or elsewhere. There are subtle differences within the cultures and needs of the markets and therefore there are some styles, such as our slings and crossbody bags, that resonate more strongly in Asia. However, we make sure to cater to the needs of all our customers around the world.
Is there a big difference in how you craft bags for business or leisure travellers?
We’re seeing that our customers are capitalising on the fact that they can now customise their journeys, whether it be for business or pleasure or both. Therefore, we design our bags and luggage with multiple journeys in mind, taking great care in making sure all our customers’ needs are met. Business travellers tend to prioritise functionality and internal organisation, whereas leisure travellers may have a bit more emphasis on aesthetics as they see their bags as an extension of their persona.
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