With traveling back in full swing, consumers are realizing it is a perfect time to refresh their luggage. Travel hub cities near international airports with a large number of high-earning millennials tend to be especially sought-after locations for luggage brands. Count on upscale street-front sites with heavy foot traffic to be preferred. Herschel Supply Co. and Away are the frontrunner luggage brands in expansion mode, but look for other buzzworthy news in this category, such as Monos being on the verge of expansion into the states, Globe-Trotter opening its first U.S. store and Gucci opening its first luggage-only shop.
The Canadian-native Herschel Supply Co. hopes to open about 15 new stores per year over the next two years. After opening its first U.S. store in November, a 2,500-s.f. street-front unit in the Flatiron District of New York City, Herschel expects to open at least four more stores in the state of New York in various types of retail settings, beginning with another street-front unit in the Soho district of NYC, in addition to a unit in the Woodbury Common Premium Outlets outdoor mall in Central Valley and the Roosevelt Field indoor regional mall in Garden City.
Herschel is also expected to open a store by mid-2023 in the Third Street Promenade outdoor street-front retail section of Santa Monica, Calif., with approximately three more stores in the Los Angeles metro expected to open by late 2023/early 2024. Upcoming cities that are under serious consideration for growth include Boston, Washington, D.C., Chicago and Seattle. The metros of Sacramento, Calif., San Diego, Atlanta, San Francisco and the major cities in Texas are also in the running for potential expansion. Herschel is still testing out various types of retail settings that will work well for the brand.
It is sampling both retail street-front units, as well as traditional regional mall settings. Herschel tends to prefer urban street sites with heavy foot traffic, in the 2,500- to 4,000-s.f. range, which attract both tourists and locals. Co-tenants should include other upscale retailers that attract the trend-setting shopper, including Lululemon, Psycho Bunny, Lacoste and Alo Yoga. Herschel is known for its utilitarian backpacks, but also sells luggage, overnight travel bags and apparel. Cognizant of being at the forefront of new artistic trends, Herschel has products that feature licensed artwork from artists such as Keith Haring and Andy Warhol.
Away, the travel/luggage retailer which has 12 stores in major metro hubs within the West Coast, the Northeast and in Texas, is once again expanding after a two-year hiatus. The brand expects to open between three and five new units per year over the next two years. In April, Away opened a store in Santana Row, the upscale shopping district in San Jose, Calif., and by this summer Away will open a unit in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Preferred sites for new stores are outdoor street-front hubs or power center spaces between 2,500 and 3,500 s.f. in retail-heavy districts with heavy foot traffic.
Look for potential growth in untapped upscale cities such as Scottsdale, Ariz., Miami, Denver and Atlanta, including the wealthier suburban markets. Preferred co-tenants for Away are higher end retailers popular with millennials, such as Parachute, Pottery Barn, J.Crew, Brilliant Earth, Anthropologie and Warby Parker. Away sells suitcases, carry-ons and sling bags in a wide array of colors, from bright neon to muted gray, and it has a new F.A.R. (For All Routes) line, which is focused more on outdoor adventure bags and backpacks.
Monos, a Canadian brand, will open its first ever retail store this month in a 2,000-s.f. retail street-front space in Vancouver, and expects to open its second store by the end of the year in Toronto. The brand plans to open up to four new stores per year over the next three years, including markets in the U.S. Expansion is rumored to begin in Northern states closer to the Canadian border, such as Chicago, Boston, New York City and Seattle. Monos has been gaining buzz because of its $30M Series B investment round last September, led by the Venn Growth Partners equity fund. The brand’s “Mono Carry-On Pro” product was also awarded the best carry-on luggage overall by Forbes in its April 2023 issue. Monos’ luggage is known for its sustainable, durable sleek designs that are available in a wide range of colors.
Globe-Trotter, the luxury carry-on bag brand that has been handcrafted in England for more than 100 years and was acquired by London-based Oakley Capital Investments in 2020, opened its very first U.S. shop in July of 2022 with a 1,500-s.f. retail street-front unit in the Melrose shopping district in Los Angeles. The brand has indicated future growth will take place over the next few years, beginning with New York City, which will most likely be followed by other retail street-front sites in upscale markets that have a thriving international airport, such as Dallas, Miami, Washington, D.C., San Diego and Denver.
In December, Gucci opened its very first permanent luggage-oriented two-level store, called Gucci Valigeria, with a 2,900-s.f. retail street-front space in Paris. This coincided with a pop-up version of the same luggage-only concept in the U.S. with a 4,500-s.f. store in the South Coast Plaza mall in Costa Mesa, Calif., that first opened in November, and recently closed in early spring of 2023. Depending on its success, future permanent luggage-only Gucci stores may be popping up soon in other U.S. luxury hub markets.
