Luggage rolls into smart, funky space

In 2016, as many as 120 million Chinese people traveled overseas, the world's largest outbound travel market and a mammoth opportunity for luggage-makers, including expensive global brands.

China is now the world's largest luggage market. Retail sales grew by 8 percent in 2016, reaching 30.9 billion yuan ($4.5 billion; 4.2 billion euros; 3.7 billion), according to consultancy Euromonitor International.

Neil Wang, president of market research agency Frost & Sullivan Greater China, says that with the increasing demand for high-end and diverse luggage products, various trendy, smart suitcase categories have sprung up.

"There are some smart designs with GPS built into the suitcase to prevent the risk of loss. Another high-tech suitcase made by an Israeli company can follow the owner and roll by itself, avoiding obstacles," he says.

"Other smart features include control of the lock through mobile phones. Some suitcases can automatically weigh themselves. Other suitcases are equipped with USB ports inside."

Last year, the travel luggage segment recorded the highest growth - 8 percent - in value of all bags and luggage categories in China.

The average unit price of bags and luggage edged up last year, as more consumers traded up from unbranded goods to brand names, along with mid-priced or high-end products, Euromonitor said.

Moreover, it found that more Chinese consumers prefer hard-case luggage for its durability and resilience.

Tao Ziqian, a 24-year-old consumer from Nanjing, Jiangsu province, owns two Rimowa suitcases that he bought in the United States. The bigger one cost him about $1,000 and the smaller one about $400.

"When I choose luggage, durability is very important, apart from appearance. I don't want to see my suitcases break when I check them in for my flights," he says.

Charles Yong, general manager of Rimowa Far East Limited, says: "Consumers are no longer taking luggage just as traveling tools. More Chinese travelers see luggage as individualized accessories, and they choose luggage in line with their tastes."

Chinese travelers' strong desire to shop abroad has made large, lightweight, tough suitcases popular. Such luggage allows more to be packed, yet conforms to many airlines' weight limits for checked baggage.

As a result, some hard-case brands have become more aggressive in their attempts to win consumer acceptance.

Rimowa, a German luggage manufacturer known for its aluminum luggage, says it has seen good growth in China last year, despite slowing economic growth. The brand foresees significant growth potential for its products in the country. It was bought out by LVMH in January.

Rimowa and another top luggage player, Samsonite, which acquired Tumi in August, together take up more than one-quarter of the global market.

"This is our 10th year in the China market, which is still nascent," Rimowa's Yong says. "In second- and third-tier Chinese cities, there are a vast number of consumers that we can still discover. Meanwhile, we have launched online stores on Tmall and JD. We are also improving our marketing efforts through social media."

Such intense efforts can be traced to the strong demand among Chinese for both domestic and outbound travel in recent years.

In the past decade, the number of domestic tourist trips has risen more than threefold from 1.2 billion in 2005 to nearly 4 billion in 2015, according to a report by Singapore's DBS Bank.

Yet there is low penetration of luggage sales in China. In 2015, the per capita expenditure on luggage was $2.90 a year, much lower than $32.30 in Japan and $24.80 in North America.

DBS sees ample room for growth in luggage sales, especially in China, India and South Korea.

zhuwenqian@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily European Weekly 03/17/2017 page29)