New Jersey-based Tumi Holdings, Inc. is intensifying its presence in Greater China, combining large flagship stores, lifestyle product lines and digital tools to reach the region’s highly connected consumers.
“Chinese consumers are super digital savvy,” Aris Maroulis, Vice President at Tumi Asia-Pacific and Middle East, told Retail Asia. “They will dial into livestreaming, visit stores and choose to buy from wherever they are.”
Greater China is the brand’s top priority in Asia. Tumi, which makes high-end suitcases and bags for travel, has renovated stores in Hong Kong and Macau, taken over operations in Taiwan from a distributor and in August opened a 280sq m flagship in Shanghai, one of its biggest worldwide.
About 100 stores now operate across Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau, with 60 directly run by Tumi. Another round of flagships is planned for Beijing, Chengdu and Shenzhen over the next three to five years.
“This is not a one-time exercise,” Maroulis said, noting that the timing was right for expansion two years after the pandemic. “This is a program for the next three to five years.”
