Time in Syria

I've got/had various pieces of luggage by Tumi over the years. At present I have a very battered leather overnight bag out here with me, and at home there is a canvas (sorry, ballistic nylon) holdall in a wardrobe which gets brought out from time to time. I once had a very nice Tumi garment bag as well, which lasted a couple of trips to North America and then got stolen from my office in the V&A! I like their stuff, and some of the current range look to have addressed some of the small detail niggles I've had (like padlocks flopping about exposed rather than having somewhere to be tucked away neatly). They also have some really nice looking ranges at the moment, in particular Townhouse and LXT. Tumi seem to me to be a bit like Range Rover - products up for the toughest adventures but stylish with it. Tumi are, or should be, people who take performance seriously, and who aim to appeal to the serious traveller who wants the best kit for the job. Or at least travellers who want to be seen as serious. So I find Tumi's website rather disappointing in its lack of the basic information that serious travellers would be looking for: such as, most seriously, weight. Given that nowadays airlines are putting such a premium on weight, it seems crazy that Tumi don't state how much each suitcase weighs, not even their lightweight range! In fact the whole presentation of Tumi on the website seems curiously flat and uninteresting, as if they were laying out their range for wholesale buyers rather than real customers. There's no sense of emotional attachment, no story, no joy; it's just dry product. Pity to see such a brand opportunity go to waste.

Labels: Branding, Luggage, Travel