The Future is Bright: - Travel Goods Association
The Future is Bright: - Travel Goods Association
The Future is Bright: - Travel Goods Association
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THE 2011 TRAVEL GOODS SHOW<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Future</strong> <strong>is</strong> <strong>Bright</strong>:<br />
Upswing Mood, Vibrant Energy and <strong>Bright</strong>, Bold<br />
Colors Mark 2011 <strong>Travel</strong> <strong>Goods</strong> Show BY KATHY WITT<br />
PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF 24/7 INTERNATIONAL, OLYMPIA, MURVAL PARIS, SUMDEX, MAX MIRANI<br />
WE’RE BAAAAACK!<br />
It was a very different <strong>Travel</strong> <strong>Goods</strong><br />
Show th<strong>is</strong> year, and it was more than<br />
the change in venue, from the usual Las<br />
Vegas Convention Center to Chicago’s<br />
McCormick Place. <strong>The</strong>re was, simply,<br />
more excitement and energy on the<br />
floor, in the biggest Show since 2008’s<br />
recession.<br />
“We’re definitely back,” said Michele<br />
Marini Pittenger, president of the <strong>Travel</strong><br />
<strong>Goods</strong> <strong>Association</strong>, who noted the Show<br />
was so sold out it had an exhibitor waiting<br />
l<strong>is</strong>t — and that was after going 14%<br />
over the budgeted goal.<br />
“Two hundred fifteen exhibitors,<br />
representing over 300 brands, came<br />
th<strong>is</strong> year. Fifty-percent more attendees<br />
pre-reg<strong>is</strong>tered for th<strong>is</strong> year’s show over<br />
last year. <strong>The</strong> New Products Pavilion<br />
d<strong>is</strong>played 90 brand-new items, 50%<br />
more than last year.<br />
“Perhaps more telling <strong>is</strong> the fact<br />
that we had a record-breaking number<br />
of nominees for the Product Innovation<br />
Awards,” she added. “It means the<br />
industry <strong>is</strong> investing in new products,<br />
and consumers are interested in new<br />
items. <strong>The</strong>se are all terrific signs that<br />
we’re on the upswing.”<br />
With more than 40,000 products<br />
on d<strong>is</strong>play, from 2,000 different lines,<br />
the Show provided a bird’s eye view of<br />
the current trends in travel goods. And<br />
while there’s no substitute for being<br />
there, here are the highlights:<br />
DID WE SAY COLOR?<br />
Heys USA embraced the color theme<br />
with sheer exuberance — even holding<br />
a special art<strong>is</strong>t signing with pop art<strong>is</strong>t<br />
Charles Fazzino — as the company<br />
celebrated its “art of modern luggage”<br />
motto through art<strong>is</strong>t collections featuring<br />
not only Fazzino’s urban-edged<br />
flamboyance, but the striking pop art<br />
of Romero Britto. <strong>The</strong> four-piece sets<br />
of showstopping four-wheel hardshells<br />
retail for $1,200 (Britto Garden) and<br />
$1,060 (Fazzino).<br />
Also flying its color verve: Italian<br />
manufacturer Roncato, with its UNO<br />
Collection depicting stunning graphics<br />
in boldly sleek polycarbonate trolleys<br />
and uprights including Rosso Murales,<br />
Nero Rosa and Viola Fiori ($569-$625).<br />
Lulu Castagnette by Murval Par<strong>is</strong><br />
was lustrous in polycarbonate — its<br />
Flamenco set, with 22” spinner, carryon<br />
and beauty case was all sass in<br />
pastels ($269), and its Pink Lulu Bear<br />
was irres<strong>is</strong>tibly hot in pink, orange, red,<br />
silver and white ($289/three-piece set).<br />
Olympia unleashed a rainbow with its<br />
new collections, including Blossom, a<br />
bouquet of aqua blue, lavender, orange<br />
and yellow in polycarbonate on dual<br />
spinner wheels ($399/set).<br />
24/7 International took a subdued-yet-striking<br />
approach in designer<br />
Chr<strong>is</strong>tina DePonte’s Oleg Cassini<br />
Wedding Collections. Bouquet and Tie<br />
the Knot are classic interpretations of<br />
Cassini’s iconic, trend-setting “Camelot”<br />
designs for First Lady Jackie Kennedy<br />
($120-$280 and $200/set). Bouquet’s<br />
five pieces evoke lace-accented bridal<br />
gowns with their woven fabric construction,<br />
patent black trim and silver<br />
hardware, an elegant “something new”<br />
for brides. And the coy Tie the Knot<br />
Collection, with its patent bow accent,<br />
shows just how timeless Cassini’s brand<br />
of old school glamour can be.<br />
In small leather goods, LODIS rolled<br />
out boldy dramatic clutches, cross-body<br />
bags, wallets and wr<strong>is</strong>tlets with feminine<br />
flair: Audrey in royal and citron<br />
($42-$94); Celestial in abstract Italian<br />
leather with suggestively Impression<strong>is</strong>t<br />
patterns ($52-$145); and Posey, dazzling<br />
in guava, lime and sky florals<br />
($38-$84).<br />
“<strong>The</strong> color explosion began about<br />
three to four years ago in the U.S. It’s<br />
hotter and hotter,” noted K.U. Chung,<br />
sales manager at BelArno. And you can<br />
see it in BelArno’s selection of ladies’<br />
wallets, clutches and cross-body bags<br />
with color mash-ups in hot combos<br />
of red, brown, purple, green, blue and<br />
black ($55-$155).<br />
WEIGHT WATCHERS<br />
Lightweight luggage <strong>is</strong> still hot, but<br />
these days it takes light weight and<br />
smart features to steal the scene. And<br />
hardside four-wheelers seem to be one<br />
Left to right: Bouquet — from 24/7 International’s Oleg Cassini Wedding Collection — the modern take on John and Jackie Kennedy’s timeless Camelot; Olympia’s Blossom<br />
Collection features polycarbonate construction, dual spinner wheels and full interior lining; <strong>The</strong> irrepressibly bright and sassy Flamenco by Murval Par<strong>is</strong>; North-South Business<br />
Brief by Sumdex; <strong>The</strong> ingeniously compact Max Mirani CRUSH.<br />
<strong>Travel</strong> <strong>Goods</strong> SHOWCASE May 2011<br />
23
THE 2011 TRAVEL GOODS SHOW<br />
of the more successful design formulas.<br />
Antler’s Liqu<strong>is</strong> 4-Wheel Roller Case<br />
sports a virgin polycarbonate A-Plus<br />
shell for a slick, tough-stuff persona at<br />
a svelte 8.4 lbs. ($399); the very smart<br />
INTUS business case with integrated<br />
handle scale shows off light weight in a<br />
flexible and impact-absorbing hardshell<br />
that helps travelers dodge baggage fees,<br />
from INTUS’ Sirus Collection (starting<br />
at $130); and Delsey’s Helium Breeze<br />
3.0 Carry-On Trolley with EZ Glide<br />
4-Wheel Spinner System, a softside with<br />
fiberglass frame, <strong>is</strong> light on the scales<br />
but heavy on durability ($149.99).<br />
In softsides, Ricardo Beverly<br />
Hills’ Expandable WheelAboard<br />
Carry-on from its Superlight Sausalito<br />
Collection garnered retailer attention<br />
with its sleek 7.1-pound frame and<br />
four-wheel Glide-Lite system, reflecting<br />
the new norm for 20” cases ($240).<br />
International <strong>Travel</strong>ler, already known<br />
for its “World’s Lightest Collection,”<br />
shed some ounces with its IT-0-1 2nd<br />
Generation 4-Wheel, dubbed the<br />
“world’s lightest spinner” ($123 to<br />
$160). American Flyer’s McCool E2<br />
[Extreme Exploration] bags, backpacks<br />
and messengers appeal to your<br />
inner James Bond with its rugged,<br />
ready-for-adventure-regardless-of-peril<br />
aesthetic ($70-$450).<br />
And Delsey’s Helium Breeze 3.0<br />
Carry-On Trolley with EZ-Glide<br />
4-Wheel Spinner System blurs the line<br />
between softsides and hard cases, with<br />
softside construction and a fiberglass<br />
frame that’s an appealing dichotomy of<br />
light-on-the-scales and heavy-on-durability<br />
($149.99).<br />
“Carry-ons continue to be strong,<br />
thanks to travelers wanting to avoid<br />
checked bag fees,” noted Marini<br />
Pittenger, “Th<strong>is</strong> means travel clothing,<br />
organizers and other ways to reduce<br />
bulk are hot items as well.” One such<br />
marvel to debut at <strong>The</strong> Show was<br />
Shelves-To-GO ® , a collapsible hanging<br />
shelf unit designed to fit carry-on<br />
luggage (see Awards story, page 55 for<br />
more). You simply stow your clothes<br />
in Shelves-To-GO ® , arrive at your hotel,<br />
unzip, hang the entire unit in the closet<br />
and you’re already unpacked.<br />
With checked bag weight and carryon<br />
space at a premium, space-saving<br />
design <strong>is</strong> BIG. Max Mirani’s Crush<br />
lives up to its name by squeezing into<br />
a dresser drawer ($395/$22”), and its<br />
MOVE showed styl<strong>is</strong>h dexterity: at your<br />
destination just hang, unzip and —<br />
voila! — instant “closet” with neatly<br />
organized shelves ($495). Balanzza’s<br />
TRUCO, billed as the industry’s first<br />
modular carry-on, reshapes itself to<br />
fit allotted space via a click-on system<br />
($199). And Lipault’s twill nylon<br />
Foldable 0% cases ($180-$225 U.S.)<br />
impressed by collapsing to fit inside a<br />
space-saving pouch — in “Wake-up!”<br />
colors.<br />
UNWANTED<br />
HITCHHIKERS<br />
Whether the bed bug threat <strong>is</strong> real<br />
or imagined, the creepy crawlies have<br />
been in the news and several companies<br />
were all over it. RMB Group’s Rest<br />
Easy <strong>is</strong> an all-natural spray made from<br />
cinnamon, lemongrass, clove and mint<br />
essential oils that <strong>is</strong> both people-safe<br />
and earth-friendly and can be sprayed<br />
around the hotel room on arrival and<br />
on your luggage — bed bugs’ ticket<br />
to your house ($6.99-$7.99/2-oz. twopack).<br />
Its reusable bed bug bags offer<br />
even more protection ($7.99/six).<br />
“By placing and locking your clothing<br />
in these bags before your trip — and<br />
not putting them in the hotel dresser<br />
Left to Right: <strong>The</strong> compact and lightweight Slide Tech Bag by Briggs & Riley; GOAL ZERO ® ’s the Guide 10<br />
Adventure Kit lets you be electronically portable, even off the grid; Roncato’s UNO Collection; Ricardo Beverly Hills’<br />
Sausalito 20” carry-on exemplifies the new norm — bold colors with more compact size.<br />
— you avoid one of the simplest means<br />
of transferring the pest to your home,”<br />
says Brian Nachsin of the RMB Group.<br />
“Most importantly, all of your worn<br />
clothing should be packed into these<br />
travel bags as a way of quarantining it.”<br />
Also rolling out preventative bed<br />
bug sprays: the patented Stop Bugging<br />
Me!, with enough naturally-derived<br />
spray to treat two queen-size mattresses<br />
($7.99/3-oz. travel size); and Bed Bug<br />
Patrol ® , which offers Bed Bug <strong>Travel</strong> &<br />
Luggage Spray ($11.85), chemical-free<br />
and non-toxic Bed Bug Traps ($19.95/8-<br />
pack) and Premium Bed Bug Luggage<br />
Protection Covers ($24) that are impermeable<br />
to the little buggers.<br />
ALL TECHED-UP<br />
“We’re seeing more emphas<strong>is</strong> on multifunctional<br />
everyday bags. <strong>The</strong>y’re items<br />
you’d use between work and home, but<br />
help simplify travel with features like<br />
ticket pockets and water bottle holsters.<br />
<strong>The</strong>se can be business cases, laptop<br />
carriers, even oversize purses — they’re<br />
styl<strong>is</strong>h, fashion-forward, and supremely<br />
functional,” noted Marini Pittenger.<br />
And two words sum up almost<br />
everything happening in the high-tech/<br />
everyday bag segment — iPad Case.<br />
Scads of manufacturers are catering to<br />
the perpetually plugged-in, with options<br />
for protecting and toting iPads, tablets<br />
and eReaders, further blurring the<br />
line between travel goods and everyday<br />
essentials.<br />
“<strong>The</strong>re appears to be no end to the<br />
innovation as manufacturers continue<br />
to create products specifically designed<br />
to make travel less stressful and a lot<br />
more fun,” said Marini Pittenger.<br />
Upping the fun factor: the graphically<br />
dynamic e-Book Wraps and iPad<br />
Wraps from Hadaki by Kalencom ($30<br />
and $50); Piel’s exqu<strong>is</strong>itely designed<br />
iPad Flip Case that turns your iPad into<br />
a folio, with multiple pockets for business<br />
cards or papers, and transforms<br />
into a horizontal or vertical hands-free<br />
stand ($97); KIVA Designs’ Microtech<br />
Shoulder Bag in graphite, surf and glorious<br />
sunfire orange, whose main compartment<br />
has a tablet-size padded pocket<br />
($39.95); and Clava, whose Carina<br />
iPad Cover epitomizes th<strong>is</strong> segment’s<br />
esthetic of modern design simplicity<br />
and multifunctional versatility ($67.50).<br />
“At the very core of the entire collection<br />
are clean minimal<strong>is</strong>t lines infused to<br />
PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF BRIGGS & RILEY, GOAL ZERO, RONCATO, RICARDO BEVERLY HILLS<br />
24 May 2011 <strong>Travel</strong> <strong>Goods</strong> SHOWCASE
PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF TRENDYKID, STEWART/STAND, HEYS USA, BELARNO<br />
high function,” says Clava designer Mia<br />
Hur. “Clean lines, reinforced exterior<br />
for protection, with a flap that can be<br />
used as a kickstand, pulled all the way<br />
back and snapped into place for reading,<br />
emailing or browsing.”<br />
Briggs & Riley appealed to on-thego<br />
professionals demanding 24/7 connectivity<br />
with the lightweight Slide Tech<br />
Bag for tablets and eReaders ($129);<br />
Sumdex embraced multi-taskers with<br />
its SpinWork Quick Stand, a hard<br />
plastic iPad case that spins for portrait,<br />
landscape or other angled views, and<br />
hangs for hands-free viewing ($49.99).<br />
It fits neatly into the company’s classically-styled<br />
North-South Business<br />
Brief, featuring a combination computer<br />
cradle for a MacBook Pro — or<br />
the SpinWork — and separate section<br />
for tablet ($129.99).<br />
“With smart phones and iPads managing<br />
our lives, I almost feel that our<br />
travel revolves around our technology,”<br />
says Chelsea Gosset, creative director<br />
at f ū l, whose Pivot ($40) — think<br />
enhanced sleeve with greater flexibility<br />
for viewing and using tablets — tucks<br />
neatly into the company’s Joint Venture<br />
MacBook Messenger with Detachable<br />
iPad Case ($69.99).<br />
LO & SONS, new to the luggage<br />
landscape, hit the ground running with<br />
its T.T. (travel tote-$260) and O.G. (overnight<br />
and gym-$295) bags. <strong>The</strong> bags<br />
have padded compartments for both<br />
a tablet and a laptop, yet maintain a<br />
slim silhouette. More importantly, they<br />
are lightweight and feature a patentpending<br />
internal support strap system<br />
— a design element that was key for<br />
company founder Helen Lo, who suffers<br />
from a bad back<br />
In teched-up bags, Powerbag’s<br />
Business Class Pack — a $179.99 checkpoint-friendly<br />
laptop backpack with a<br />
built-in 6000mAh battery for recharging<br />
portable electronics — earned<br />
third place in the <strong>Travel</strong> <strong>Goods</strong><br />
<strong>Association</strong>’s Product Innovation<br />
Awards. <strong>The</strong> bag, from RFA<br />
Brands, features a full-size USB<br />
socket, micro- and mini-USB<br />
plugs and a 30-pin Apple connector,<br />
and carries enough juice to<br />
charge a typical cell phone battery<br />
four times over.<br />
And if you’re going off the<br />
grid, GOAL ZERO ® ’s portable solar<br />
technology keeps you powered up with<br />
the Guide 10 Adventure Kit ($139.95/<br />
without rechargeable AA batteries;<br />
$159.95/with the batteries). It folds in<br />
your pocket, functions as a power pack,<br />
and solar-charges cell phones in one to<br />
two hours, charges AA/AAA batteries in<br />
three to five sun hours, and has a builtin<br />
LED flashlight good for nine-plus<br />
days per charge.<br />
BABIES ON BOARD<br />
Nemo, Curious George and Buzz<br />
Lightyear were some of the beloved<br />
characters appealing to pint-sized travelers<br />
in pillows, blankets and lovies<br />
— sometimes all three together — as<br />
kids’ comfort items took front and center<br />
with many exhibitors at <strong>The</strong> 2011<br />
<strong>Travel</strong> <strong>Goods</strong> Show.<br />
“Function and versatility are the big<br />
trends, although they’re always part of<br />
the travel goods picture,” said Marini<br />
Pittenger. “Manufacturers continue to<br />
design and deliver products that make<br />
travel more convenient, comfortable,<br />
colorful, safe and secure.”<br />
Lew<strong>is</strong> & Clark f<strong>is</strong>hed up Nemo<br />
for its line of Li’l Lew<strong>is</strong> Explorers<br />
travel neck pillows. Cabeau put the<br />
warm-and-fuzzy in its <strong>Travel</strong> Blankid®<br />
($29.99), a super soft plush animal that<br />
transforms into a blanket, travel pillow<br />
and backpack, and swept the <strong>Travel</strong><br />
<strong>Goods</strong> Show’s Buzz Award. Zoobies’<br />
Storytime Pals turns Curious George,<br />
storytime’s most famous monkey, into<br />
a plush toy, pillow and fleece blanket<br />
all-in-one and accompanied by a storybook<br />
($35). “Even though a Zoobie<br />
wasn’t directly created with travel in<br />
mind, we have found that it <strong>is</strong> a perfect<br />
travel companion,” says Zoobies’ Sam<br />
Allen. “So many parents and grandparents<br />
have told me that a Zoobie took so<br />
much hassle out of their travels.”<br />
With its nesting Cuties and Pals<br />
travel duo, TrendyKid also gave a nod<br />
to making parents’ lives easier by pairing<br />
a sturdy hardshell 20” wheelie and a<br />
13” backpack together ($89.99).<br />
<strong>The</strong> kid appeal of Trunki ($39.99)<br />
by Mel<strong>is</strong>sa & Doug <strong>is</strong> off the charts<br />
with these brightly colored ride-on/pullalong<br />
lightweight suitcases that were<br />
introduced a few years ago. Enhancing<br />
the cases are new Saddlebags ($14.99)<br />
that kids can drape over their Trunki for<br />
additional padding or carry as a shoulder<br />
pack. In either case, the saddlebags<br />
allow kids to tote more of their musthaves<br />
— art supplies, picture books,<br />
snacks, mad money — along on their<br />
adventures.<br />
And speaking of adventure, Space<br />
Ranger Buzz Lightyear and the whole<br />
Toy Story gang literally shine in D<strong>is</strong>ney<br />
by Heys’ Fiber Optic Rolling Duffels<br />
($110). Other flashing favorites in the<br />
line: D<strong>is</strong>ney’s Fairies, Princesses and<br />
Cars.<br />
THE NEXT FRONTIER<br />
Getting attention are accessories that<br />
incorporate RFID-blocking technology<br />
to protect personal information<br />
stored on RFID chips finding their way<br />
onto passports and credit cards. Among<br />
them are Pacsafe’s RFIDsafe 50<br />
RFID Passport Protector ($14.99), the<br />
Shielded SPIbelt ($29.95) carrier for<br />
small personal items, Royce Leather<br />
Gifts’ wallets and passport covers in<br />
different styles and colors from $30 to<br />
$52. And the drool-inducing, industrialgrade<br />
stainless steel men’s and women’s<br />
wallets, clutches and mini messengers<br />
from Stewart/Stand for $59.50 to $700<br />
— but it’s beauty so sleek it’s worth<br />
every piece of silver you lay down for<br />
one.<br />
b<br />
Left to Right: Cuties and Pals travel duo by TrendyKid; Stewart/Stand’s sleek-and-stainless Mini Messenger Bag<br />
dazzles while providing RFID protection; Heys USA’s funky Fazzino Collection brings some lighthearted fun back to<br />
the travel experience; BelArno’s wallets, clutches and cross-body bags show that colors are hot, hot, hot!<br />
<strong>Travel</strong> <strong>Goods</strong> SHOWCASE May 2011<br />
25