McLaren and TUMI, the leading international travel and lifestyle brand, have announced a new partnership which will see TUMI become the official luggage partner of McLaren including world-famous race team McLaren Racing and luxury supercar company McLaren Automotive.   

Since 1975, TUMI has built a foundation of innovation, functionality and durable design, with a focus on optimising the journeys of Global Citizens around the world. TUMI will provide McLaren with world-class business and travel essentials, designed to uncomplicate, and elevate performance in all aspects of life on the move. TUMI and McLaren plan to release a luggage collection in late 2020 that brings together the shared values of both brands – unparalleled quality, technical innovation and excellence in design.  

From aeronautics to automotive to sport – TUMI is inspired by the world’s most innovative industries which makes the partnership with McLaren, a world-renowned leader in embedding leading-edge technology into products with a clear design language, a natural collaboration.  Starting from the 2020 season, the McLaren F1 team will be equipped with TUMI world-class travel essentials to accompany and assist the team in their travel around the globe.   

Zak Brown, Chief Executive Officer, McLaren Racing said:“Travel and lifestyle are central to the sport of Formula 1, so our new partnership with TUMI is perfect. Like McLaren, TUMI is constantly pursuing better in everything it does through optimisation and innovation. We’re delighted to welcome TUMI into our family of partners and to proudly represent the brand and its products around the globe.” 

Mike Flewitt, Chief Executive Officer, McLaren Automotive, said: “McLaren supercar owners the world-over value the experience of travel with a clear emphasis on performance, luxury and style. We see that echoed by TUMI who, like McLaren, pursue a like-minded focus on the innovative use of lightweight materials and optimised performance all brought together by a holistic design-led approach.” 

Rob Cooper, President, TUMI said:“It’s an exciting step for TUMI to venture into this collaboration with McLaren. At TUMI, we pride ourselves on truly understanding our customers, as well as having the foresight to develop products that meet their evolving travel needs. We believe that partnering with McLaren to bring their cutting edge, lightweight technologies to a collaborative collection will support TUMI’s mission of providing high-performance solutions and innovative products that optimize the journey.”  More details about the collaboration between McLaren and TUMI will be revealed next year.    A

bout McLaren Racing: New Zealand racing driver Bruce McLaren founded the McLaren Racing team in 1963. Since 1966, when it entered its first Formula 1 race, McLaren has won 20 Formula 1 world championships and over 180 grands prix. It has also won the Le Mans 24 Hours and the Indy 500 three times – the two biggest races in the world. McLaren Racing competes in the FIA Formula 1 World Championship with Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris, and the NTT IndyCar Series with Patricio O’Ward and Oliver Askew.   

About McLaren Automotive: McLaren Automotive is a creator of luxury, high-performance supercars. Every vehicle is hand-assembled at the McLaren Production Centre (MPC) in Woking, Surrey, England. Launched in 2010, the company is now the largest part of the McLaren Group. The company has over 80 retailers in more than 30 markets around the world. The company’s Track25 business plan will see it invest £1.2billion in research and development to deliver 18 new cars or derivatives by the end of 2025. 2019 saw McLaren launch the 600LT Spider confirmed as the third car of Track25, with a new GT car announced and the previously-confirmed track-only McLaren Senna GTR unveiled along with the Elva roadster which will be limited to only 399 production examples   

About TUMI: Since 1975, TUMI has been creating world-class business and travel essentials, designed to upgrade, uncomplicate, and beautify all aspects of life on the move. Blending flawless functionality with a spirit of ingenuity, we’re committed to empowering journeys as a lifelong partner to movers and makers in pursuit of their passions. The brand is sold globally in over 75 countries with approximately 2,000 points of sale. 

For more about TUMI, visit www.TUMI.co.za

TUMI, the leading international premium travel accessories and lifestyle brand, has unveiled its latest South African flagship store in Cape Town and a renovated Sandton City outlet.  It will launch a new online store shortly.

The latest addition to TUMI’s retail network is situated at one of Cape Town’s most prestigious and busiest addresses —Canal Walk shopping centre. Located in this popular mall, South Africa’s jetsetters and international visitors alike will be able to experience a brand which appeals to the individual accustomed to business-class travel, top hotels, and who also wants the ultimate in luggage. In addition to quality luggage and travel bags, TUMI stores offer business cases and travel accessories such as jackets and electronic equipment. The new store is the first bespoke, stand-alone TUMI store in Cape Town, enabling consumers to experience in the appropriate setting its world-class business and travel essentials. These blend flawless functionality with an aesthetic of ingenuity.

“The TUMI brand is widely known in its US home market, as well as Europe, as an exclusive product. It is for this reason we opted for the upscale location of Canal Walk, which attracts a high percentage of international visitors, as well as discerning South African travellers,” says Tom O’Flaherty, managing director of Tumi Southern Africa. TUMI is marketed and distributed by a joint venture (JV) between Tumi Inc. and local businessmen, Tom O’Flaherty and Rob Kunze.  The JV took local control of the TUMI brand in 2017 and the team set out a comprehensive expansion and marketing plan.  The brand has seen a 10 percent increase in units sold, which has been the result of a more diverse range of products being stocked, and pricing which has become more competitive comparative to international prices.  The direct supply chain to TUMI enabled the JV to reduce the previous prices, he explains.

“The JV also enables us to bring the latest products to the market much quicker than was previously the case.”The new Canal Walk store joins the brand’s recently renovated outlet in Sandton, together with a licensed store at OR Tambo International Airport. The brand’s choice of store locations at exclusive retail centres and airports reflects TUMI’s business strategy for African expansion.

“We aim to build the brand image in key, upmarket shopping precincts.  We have a growth strategy which will roll out as appropriate locations become available.  We have two target markets: South Africa’s fast growing high-income sector which travels outbound primarily on business; and the increasing number of inbound international tourists visiting especially Cape Town and our game reserves,” says O’Flaherty.

TUMI is expanding into a growth market: a study by Grant Thornton International published in January 2017 shows that South Africa’s outbound tourism has grown by 6,2 percent between 2006 and 2015 and is set to continue to accelerate. Furthermore, 54 percent of outward travellers originate from Gauteng, and 25 percent from Cape Town. 

The Cape Town TUMI store is located on the upper level of the Canal Walk shopping centre and the Johannesburg store is on the lower level of Sandton City.

For more information, visit www.tumi.com