Strandbags is developing a youth brand and preparing to unlock opportunities within men's bags, following the launch of Evity and Nere.
Evity development started two years ago, as lockdowns and restrictions made their impact on businesses.
With the brand now on track to exceed $100 million in sales during its first year, Strandbags CEO Felicity McGahan said further opportunities have been identified in the market.
“There's a youth brand that we're working on - which is our next one," McGahan confirmed. "We're also very focused on unlocking the men's opportunity in the business.”
The venture comes as discretionary spending on bags and accessories grows, following a period of disruption during the COVID-19 pandemic.
At the genesis of COVID-19 in early 2020, fewer consumers required new bags as travel movements were restricted.
“But then once we got into COVID-19, people were gifting themselves with those small purchases,” McGahan said.
This included a rise in the sales of wallets and purses, which were slowly being impacted by the influx of mobile phone cases that could double as card holders.
Then, in regard to the impact of travel, people shifted from holidaying via airplane to holidaying via the car, travelling locally.
“Through COVID, the categories really moved around for us through the last two years. And that's when our supply chain and our team had to pivot very quickly," McGahan said.
“We went from hard cases to soft cases. It went from big cases to small cases. Consumers weren't going for big trips; they were going for weekenders.
“And then now we're seeing a complete flip around again, where we're back to international travel and big trips and family vacations.”
To continue riding the wave of consumers travelling nationally and abroad, Strandbags released a new range of travel products called Nere on Thursday, July 21.
“The launch of Nere far exceeded our expectations, and our expectations were very high," McGahan said.
“We did an early launch with our loyal customers a couple of days earlier, and that was incredible. We're now seeing travel exceed the pre-COVID numbers.
“What you're seeing at the airport is reflected to what we're seeing in stores.”
According to McGahan, Nere’s name arose from the term ‘near’, highlighting the way many Australians travelled local during the height of the covid pandemic.
“'Nere' was where everyone was travelling because it was very local. Suddenly we all had to adapt our travel style.
“And, when you think about your luggage, it's with you; it's by your side when you're travelling.
“When we presented to the board, they're like, ‘is everyone going to understand this?’ It's easier to just create a brand name that you won't be able to trademark around the world.”
What consumers want
McGahan said that the media is so focused on the airport right now, where everyone is used to seeing the negative side of travel. The long queues, the delays, the disruptions.
“What we're not seeing is that families are travelling again, friends are travelling, kids are travelling, they're reconnecting.
“People are living, they're celebrating life.”
“I think that's what this is all about now, that people want to live again, and they want to be out there and connecting.
“It's a sad thing that we're not seeing more of that right now.”
Because of this, Felicity believes that much of the current rise in travel luggage purchases is from consumers wanting fresh and new.
“You’ve probably had two cases sitting in your house for years. And then you begin to think ‘I want fresh luggage.’ I think there's a lot of people that want a fresh start.
“And we're also seeing a lot of packages, where consumers want the whole set. It's not just updating one.
“In luggage, it's gone from being this commodity to being part of your personal style. And this is the whole point of Nere: it's got to be Instagrammable.
“Whilst people want function, they also want fashion and style. Let's maintain the functionality, but let's bring in the style now."
Prior to COVID, McGahan said travel luggage used to be built for the airport journey.
“Is it light enough? And is it durable enough? And whilst that's all important - and we're certainly not walking away from that - it's got to be about where were the bags going. Does it also belong on the trip?
“That’s the evolution and the modernization of making sure that the category now is exciting and fashionable, and as well as functional.
In the end, while brands at Strandbags cover the functionality of their overall purpose, McGahan said they’ve identified “the importance of having a real reason for them to exist.”
“We’re going through each of our brands to make sure that we're clear on the role they play in the portfolio, the customer, how we give them their own purpose and their own look and feel. To build a brand, not just the product."