with it

after a few years of gentle prodding, outdoor specialty consumers are feeling comfortable with wheeled travel luggage.



So comfortable, in fact, that many suppliers are increasing the number of SKUs of wheeled packs and duffels as they expect sales to increase over the next couple of years.

Eagle Creek and Kelty's Pangaea line are just two examples. "We anticipate that wheeled luggage will be 50 percent of Pangaea's sales within the next two to three seasons," says Pangaea's Thorn Luth, who estimates that it currently accounts for 10 percent to 20 percent of the brand's sales.

Ricky Schlesinger of Eagle Creek also reports an increase in sales of wheeled luggage. "Two years ago, wheeled pieces composed about 25 percent of our line," he says. "SKU-wise, the entire travel-gear line is now 50 percent wheeled."

Why are wheeled duffels on a roll right now? Schlesinger attributes the momentum to the fact that a certain flight-attendant stigma is now removed from wheeled travel products for the outdoor marketplace.

"Once consumers tried wheeled duffels and packs, they found them to be so convenient that they never went back," says Schlesinger.

Such momentum also signals an increase in competition in the marketplace, which means that retailers will have to study this category to determine the magic combination of prices and features to best suit customers.

Giving it the "Outdoor" Touch. Wheeled luggage is, indeed, a mainstream trend that's spreading into the outdoor market. Outdoor brands are adding familiar touches to the finished product, however, by tweaking technical packs and duffels to work with wheels. At Outdoor Retailer Winter Market 1999, luggage pieces sported compartments galore for various travel items and electronics. You could even find zip-off bags to make the luggage more versatile, and other well-thought-out details. However, when it comes to luggage, outdoor specialty store consumers are primarily concerned with comfort. Outdoor consumers are savvy on support systems and weight, and this is the year suppliers are jockeying to offer just the right combination of weight, features and price points.

For example, for spring 2000, Eagle Creek will introduce the Cross Terrain series, which targets the technical outdoor enthusiast. "The Cross Terrain is more of a genuine hybrid between a technical backpack and wheeled luggage," says Schlesinger. "It has the body shape of a technical pack with an internal frame and the capacity of a larger-sized pack. It's also got an adjustable, hideaway suspension system." The Cross Terrain packs retail for $275 to $300.

Luth says Pangaea debuted the Transport Luggage Cart for spring 2000. "Fall 1999 was our first go-round with wheeled packs," he says. "We developed this line to continue with Kelty's pack heritage in travel luggage."

The Transport Luggage Cart is about 20 percent lighter than some other wheeled packs on the market, due to a lightweight aluminum frame that's featured on wheeled Pangaea pieces. Luth says that the Pangaea line of wheeled products will hover around the $200 retail mark.

Swiss Army introduced a line of luggage at Winter Market, joining a cast of others that includes Timberland, JanSport, DaKine, Burton Snowboards and Pangaea.

Despite the numbers of suppliers trying to compete for the adventure travel luggage pie, Luth thinks there's room for everyone. "I see that there is still a lot of opportunity in this market, kind of how snowshoes were a few years back—it's still on the upward trend," he says.

The push of this product and the number of suppliers now offering wheeled travel gear is a result of some solid numbers from outside of the outdoor industry. In the mainstream luggage marketplace, wheeled travel products have been on the market since 1980.

According to a report completed for the first half of 1998 by Luggage and Leather Goods Manufacturers Association (LLGMA), a trade organization for the luggage industry, about 40,000 consumers bought backpacks and daypacks within the "adventure travel luggage" category of the luggage industry. The study also points out that "handle systems, wheel systems, packing systems and transport systems continue to be strong."

While not targeting wheeled pieces specifically, the LLGMA report sheds some light on luggage purchasing habits in mainstream society. The report noted that large suitcases (24 inches and larger) and backpacks/daypacks were the market leaders in soft-sided luggage sales. For the period of time spanning from July to December 1997, sales of backpacks/daypacks reached $510 million. Members of the 45- to 54-year-old age group led the spending, and 77 percent of the consumers of this product are female heads of households.

The American Association of Travel and Tourism pegged the adventure travel industry to be worth an estimated $4 billion, says Schlesinger. Despite these numbers, outdoor retailers are gun-shy with this category for a number of reasons: price and floor space are just two.

Some Retailers Are Reluctant. "Manufacturers are trying to dictate a trend in wheeled luggage," says Ieva Perkons, a buyer for Appalachian Ski/Outdoor in State College, Penn. "The duffels we carry are only here because we needed an extra $150 to get the order. We're a small store and don't have much room to display them along with all of our other categories, although we do use some Eagle Creek product for cross-merchandising."

Perkons says that, in her area, $150 is the sought-after price for a carry-on sized, wheeled piece of travel luggage. Perkons also notes that she has seen a lot of large duffels on wheels being pushed at the Outdoor Retailer trade shows. "We can only carry two brands, to give justice to rolling luggage lines in our store," she says.

Laura Halter, co-owner of Granite Mountain Outfitters in Prescott, Ariz., says that she just can't afford to have a nice-sized adventure travel luggage display in her store. "We do a lot of special orders for Eagle Creek, as our customers are asking for it by name," she says. "Looking at how strong the numbers are for adventure travel and luggage for adventure travel, I probably should just bite the bullet and do it."

Halter says that the trend for wheeled luggage comes from the fact that boomers are "graying." She adds,"Let's face it, the airport gets bigger as we get older."

But it's not just for older folks, says Dave Bisset, a member of DaKine's research and design division in Hood River, Ore. DaKine is seeing a large demand for wheeled travel product from younger, board-savvy consumers.

"Our athletes demanded an easier way to transport equipment like windsurfers, surfboards, snowboards and skis," he explains. Wheeled luggage composed 30 percent of DaKine's luggage line in 1999, and in the year 2000, that number should go up to 50 percent, says Bisset.

DaKine's line of wheeled luggage is priced between $150 and $200. Younger consumers who identify with the board-inspired style of DaKine's line are also asking for zip-off bags and compartments, just like the older demographics are demanding, he says.

Burton entered the market with wheeled luggage about five years ago, says Jim Frazier, product line manager. "Every manufacturer in the outdoor/sport/travel industry has introduced wheeled travel bags in the last three years," he says. "As a result, this market is filled with an avalanche of low-quality, low-priced and low-functionality product."

To stay ahead of its competitors, Burton's strategy has focused on fulfilling the needs of traveling snowboarders, meaning every compartment designed into a piece serves a specific purpose for the niche it's trying to reach. The Burton line is priced between $100 and $200.

Retailers are noticing that carry-on sized and large duffels with wheels are the bulk of the new product on the market. Scott Singer, co-owner and buyer for Backcountry Experience in Durango, Colo., says that in his area the larger duffels are definitely in demand from his active customers. Because of that, his shop devotes about 50 square feet of floor space to this category.

"Wheeled luggage is about 20 percent of that," he says. "In our market, travel is a means to an end, not an activity in itself, and our customers need large wheeled duffels to transport gear."

Halter at Granite Mountain Outfitters says she would like to be able to devote the floor space to this product. "It merchandises so nicely if you have the space and the money," she says. "I go through the shows and look at how nicely Eagle Creek does its displays and wish I could do it."