What's Next?

By Anne L. DeCicco cae cmp ecam
aldecicco@aol.com

I refuse to allow myself to get caught up in the travel statistics guessing games. It is difficult to pick up a newspaper or magazine without an article about the state of travel jumping out at you. Depending upon the writer's inclination and the results of the bowl into which he or she mixes a blend of statistics from airlines, travel organizations, public opinion polls, etc., the reader learns either that travel is rebounding or that it will never be the same. Similarly, travel goods industry people take the bits-and-pieces of information approach and come up with their personal opinion on the future of the travel goods industry. Again, their position is usually heavily tilted toward their personal optimism or negativism.

The bottom line is -- no one really knows whether the travel goods industry will be healthy next year or the year after. There are so many variables that affect this industry's performance, all out of our control. I would prefer to share thoughts on what the industry, on both the wholesale and retail sides, can do to be ready when the economy recovers, terrorism threats subside, business travel returns, etc. My opinion is that we should take an optimistic approach by getting down to some unfinished, or should we say unstarted, work that needs to be done.

Yes, I do believe we should be optimistic about the future. Americans will travel again. It's in each American's blood. Every American is here because someone somewhere in his or her family, last year or two hundred years ago, traveled to this country. The diverse population that exists today, and which makes American culture as rich as it is, will contribute to getting Americans traveling again because they want to visit family or old family homesteads. And, Americans are curious people so they want to travel at home and abroad.

So, if we are optimistic, what else should we be doing? Thinking, designing and producing for new and untapped markets. When I travel, my favorite waiting activity used to be watching the products people carried, identifying the manufacturers, and later, researching the product names I didn't recognize. While doing that, one gets a first-class look at current fashion and accessories trends. Lately, however, I have started looking at travelers differently. I have been studying the travelers, looking for markets the travel goods industry has not yet tapped and noting the kinds of travel goods products they are using.

One huge market with enormous discretionary income that our industry is ignoring is teens. They spend billions of their own money each year. And they are unafraid to spend it on expensive labels. And they develop brand allegiances.

I have talked before in this column about the teen market. I believe strongly that travel goods products designed specifically for this age group would sell. They have different container needs for traveling. For example, how many pairs of those shoes with the 4-inch solid heels fit in a 22" bag that is designed for adults? I recently traveled with my 17-year old daughter and we had one suitcase that had nothing but shoes because of the size of hers!

Laugh you might, but a shoe bag is interesting to think about. Wouldn't it be useful to work with several focus groups of teenagers to get their perceptions of luggage, traveling, and hear first-hand what their needs are? I would be curious to see the results of focus groups of older travelers, too, and what their special product needs are.

Fashion. The industry is beginning to take notice of the fashion concept. Travel goods, whether a piece of luggage, a briefcase, a pad holder or a wallet, need to be more in tune with the accessories industry and fashion trends. Women want these items to make a fashion statement. We want women to think about these items as accessories to their clothing so they need to match their luggage and briefcases, for example, with their outfit or plans for the day -- casual, chic, business, etc. The new shapes of luggage showing up on the shelves are exciting and I think women will find them to be a good incentive to buy. Last, our industry needs to do more to cooperatively promote its products with major names in the fashion industry.

Now is the time to be getting ready for when the economy takes off and Americans return to their travel goods retailer. Be optimistic. Think and plan about untapped markets and ready products for them for the marketplace. And, do something radical -- get women, teenagers, older adults and folks from other untapped markets involved in your design process or in helping retailers think about how to reach them in their advertising.

Optimism. Out-of-the box thinking and planning. Fashion. The future is what you make it.