Tumi is rolling into the beauty aisle. The luxury luggage company known for its hard-sided wheeled suitcases is making a case for itself as a lifestyle brand, specifically through fragrance. On Thursday, Tumi entered the women’s fragrance category with a four-piece perfume collection inspired by travel destinations like Kyoto and New York City.
“In the past, I would have never thought we’d be working on a women’s fragrance. And now it’s almost second nature,” said Tumi creative director Victor Sanz.
This is not Tumi’s first foray into fragrance. Tumi first launched perfume in 2020 with a duo of male-targeted scents and has since expanded the line with the likes of last fall’s 19 Degree fragrance. The debut women’s collection, with bottles retailing for $135 a bottle, will be available at Tumi’s own stores and website, as well as retailers like Nordstrom.
While many fragrance brands are moving to unisex marketing, Sanz said launching male-targeted fragrance first made sense to match Tumi’s more masculine aesthetic.
“It’s what we’re most known for as a brand,” said Sanz, adding, “We also wanted to ensure the fragrance’s elements, like the [bottle’s] locking cap, handle and ergonomics, and the performance of the fragrance, matched the brand.”
Tumi is far from the only company to recently make a play for fragrance — brands ranging from Esquire to Cirque du Soleil have launched perfumes in recent months, either through licensing deals or collaborations with existing perfume brands. Tumi took the former path, partnering with perfume licensor and distributor The Fragrance Group, which also owns the license for Banana Republic and Christian Siriano fragrances. The launch comes after Tumi has already expanded its footprint to sectors like eyewear, which it launched with De Rigo in 2021.
“We had to mature the brand to get it to that place where introducing a fragrance would be accepted by our customer base,” said Sanz. “But now, with Tumi going beyond luggage and bags — we have outerwear, belts, electronics, every element you need to perfect your journey — it was truly accepted.”
In 2023, Tumi, which was acquired by Samsonite in 2016, reported net sales of $878 million, representing a 34.3% increase from 2022. But the brand is eyeing how it can grow further, and not just because there’s a limited audience in the market for a Tumi suitcase, whose carry-on luggage starts at $650. Perhaps more crucially, if Tumi’s luggage lives up to its longevity claims, customers won’t be repurchasing suitcases year after year.
Perfume, meanwhile, is a naturally replenishing category, particularly as consumers are increasingly interested in building “fragrance wardrobes” rather than sticking to a single signature scent.
“People have massive collections of fragrance. So it also allows us to be part of their world,” said Sanz.
For now, the Tumi’s women’s collection will only be available in 100-milliliter bottles. Though that size technically meets carry-on liquid restrictions, Tumi says it plans to release true travel-sized versions of the fragrances for the holiday season. But with the expansion of its fragrance line, the luggage brand is hoping to reach customers even when they stay at home.
