“Just getting started”: Aussie luggage brand July touches down in NYC

Australian luggage brand July recently launched its first US bricks-and-mortar location in the heart of New York City’s shopping-centered neighborhood, SoHo, at 127 Greene Street. 

New York City was an obvious choice for the brand to locate its first US store said Athan Didaskalou, July’s co-founder and director. Besides being a hub for both shopping and travel enthusiasts, the city represents the brand’s biggest market in the US.

In addition to the five stores in Australia and the recently opened Soho location, July plans to open at least three additional stores in the US — in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Los Angeles — as well as six more stores across Australia, and two stores in Southeast Asia by the end of 2024.

Didaskalou stated that the brand is eager to expand with retail locations in Japan and South Korea in the future. 

From Australia to the world

Prior to launching a luggage and travel goods company, Didaskalou and July co-founder Richard Li had worked in various sectors of the retail industry, including furniture and coffee. The two became friends, bonding over their unique experiences working in the Chinese retail landscape, and in 2018 were brainstorming about what type of business they could launch together. 

After multiple discussions, one category the two found themselves drawn to was the concept of accessible luxury luggage for the international traveler. 

For Didaskalou, who used to scour through sites like eBay for vintage Rimowa suitcases to renovate and reuse, he found the category highly appealing.

“I had already understood the power of having sexy luggage and having luggage as a fashion accessory, as a status symbol. I was very much in that in that target audience set. So I was like, I just want to do it better and I want to be able to do it cheaper. Maybe 15 years ago, we used to borrow our parents’ or our friends’ suitcases and spend more money shopping overseas than you would accessorizing for the trip,” said Didaskalou.

These days, he pointed out, the presentation of luggage is just as important, if not more so, than its functionality.

In July’s retail stores, for instance, consumers spend a lot of time in front of the mirror: “They’re literally looking at themselves looking at the suitcase and trying to get their persona ready for what their journey is going to be,” Didaskalou said. “For us that’s a really interesting psyche moment and it means that the products need to be phenomenal. But the next step after that is to make sure that they are colour-forward and that they are something that you want to be attached to.”

In addition to neutral tones such as grey and beige, the brand’s products come in a rainbow of on-trend tones like cherry red, dandelion yellow, and emerald green, and a wide array of sizes.

The brand also stands out from competitors in the market through its attention to detail, such as a handle that can be smoothly adjusted to 20 different heights.

Shoppers can also choose between suitcases with extra features, such as an ejectable power bank under the handle, or a simpler, more light-weight model, and personalise their luggage with 11 fonts and 28 colors.

For the millennial and Gen Z shopper, who make up a large portion of July’s consumer base, the numerous options for custom personalisation and the brand’s stylish designs are a large part of what lures them towards the brand.

From tribulations to triumphs

During the pandemic, July, understandably, lost a significant amount of business, approximately 95 per cent of revenue, due to lockdown restrictions, which were especially strict in Australia. However, thanks to strategic steps, such as expanding its e-commerce capabilities in China, where domestic travel was still permitted, the brand was able to recoup its losses and then some. 

July reported that it grew over 640 per cent in fiscal year 2022 and is doing 10 times more than its pre-Covid revenue. 

According to business analysis firm Verified Market Research, the luggage market was valued at US$33.51 billion in 2020 and is projected to reach US$70.77 billion by 2028, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 9.81 per cent from 2021 to 2028.

Not to mention, with travel retail growing at an exponential rate, July couldn’t be in a better place to be working on both retail expansion and expanding its product range.

In addition to the models July currently offers, Didaskalou explained that the brand is currently on the midst of launching 400 new stock-keeping units, including a leather luggage line, travel accessories, and much more. 

The co-founder hinted that several of the new product launches would be in collaboration with prominent hotel chains and various fashion brands. 

Even though the company has been around for several years, to Didaskalou, it feels like the business has only just taken off, and he is excited to continue innovating the luggage and travel retail category with July. 

“I feel like 2023 was really our first year in doing all the things that we wanted to do when it comes to product launches and physical retail, something that we have believed in from day one, opening our first store within six months of launching the business,” he said. “It feels like we are just getting started.”

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