A suitcase used to be a fairly simple purchase. Buy one large case, pack the family’s holiday clothes into it and use it for years. That is changing. Indians are travelling more often, taking shorter breaks and mixing work with leisure. A weekend trip needs different luggage from a two-week international holiday. A work trip may need a laptop-friendly cabin case. A quick getaway may call for a duffle.
So, luggage is no longer just about size and durability. Buyers are looking at weight, wheels, compartments, colours, materials and even how the suitcase looks. For World Tourism Day, four luggage industry leaders share what they are seeing in the Indian market.
Abhinav Pathak, Co-Founder & CEO, Escape Plan
“Travel has moved from being an event to being a habit. People are no longer saving up for one big annual trip. They are taking three or four shorter ones, adding a weekend to a work trip, travelling outside peak season. International travel is growing faster than domestic.
That has changed what luggage means. It used to be a once-in-a-decade purchase, often inherited, bought on durability alone. Today it is a considered purchase with a much shorter replacement cycle. Households own multiple pieces in different sizes instead of one large suitcase. Design, weight and colour now sit alongside price. The category has started behaving like a lifestyle category rather than a utility one.”
For Escape Plan, the biggest shift is towards cabin luggage. Short trips and hand baggage-only fares mean the cabin suitcase is getting more attention. Pathak expects brands to put more work into the 55cm format, with features such as;
• Laptop access
• Front opening compartments
• Better internal organisation
• Lighter construction
• Stronger wheels, handles and zips
International travel also makes durability easier to judge. Long flights and multiple transfers can expose weak components very quickly.
Chetan Siyal, Founding Member and CMO, SNITCH
“Travel has become something people build their lives around. A concert, a long weekend, a quick break or a work trip extended by two days. There are more reasons to pack a bag now. That changes what people expect from luggage. When you use something more often, you notice everything. Its weight, how the wheels move, how easily you can pack it, and whether it survives being thrown around. Coming from fashion, what interests us is how personal the choice is becoming. People put thought into what they wear when they travel. It makes sense that they want their luggage to reflect that same taste. Function gets you considered. Design gives someone a reason to choose you.”
The fashion influence is easy to see. Travellers are becoming more particular about how their luggage looks, but good design still has to solve everyday problems. SNITCH expects buyers to pay closer attention to;
• Empty suitcase weight
• Airline-friendly cabin dimensions
• Laptop compartments
• Separate spaces for shoes and clothes
• Wheel movement
• Construction quality
The idea is not simply to add more features. Each feature needs to make packing or moving around easier.
Mohit Garg, CEO & Founder, Assembly
“People aren’t packing for ‘a trip’ anymore. They’re packing for a life that keeps moving. When travel becomes weekly instead of yearly, a suitcase stops being a once-a-year purchase and starts being something you actually live with, so the wheels, the zips, the way a handle feels in your hand start to matter more than the logo on the front. At Assembly, we design for that relationship, not for the moment you buy it in a store.”
Assembly is seeing more thought going into the shape and size of luggage too. Instead of one oversized suitcase trying to do everything, travellers can now choose based on the trip.
• Compact cabin cases for short breaks
• Slimmer mid-size cases for lighter packing
• Soft structured bags for casual getaways
• Different sizes that work as a set
Colour is changing too. Garg points to shades such as blush, olive and stone, rather than very loud colours. The suitcase is starting to feel closer to something you choose as part of your personal style.
Anuj Sawhney, Managing Director, Swiss Military
“The biggest change we are witnessing is that travel is becoming more fluid. The Indian traveller is no longer travelling around a single, predictable annual holiday. Short breaks, weekend travel, work-related journeys and international trips are increasingly becoming part of the same lifestyle.
That has fundamentally changed the role of luggage. Earlier, consumers largely bought luggage as a functional necessity; a suitcase was expected to last and serve a broad purpose. Today, luggage is increasingly being chosen around how an individual travels. We see consumers building a portfolio of travel products rather than looking for one product to do everything. A cabin bag for a short trip, a larger case for longer journeys, a backpack for work and a duffle for greater flexibility each have a distinct role.”
Swiss Military is also seeing a shift from buying the most expensive product to buying the product that makes the most sense for the trip. The basics still matter most.
• Lightweight construction
• Reliable wheels
• Useful interiors
• Strong materials
• Easy movement
• Good value for money
