Calpak is expanding into a new category of premium luggage, the company revealed on Tuesday.
The travel accessories brand has launched Vault, the brand’s first aluminum-frame luggage collection. Calpak said that this expansion marks a new chapter for the brand as it evolves beyond its core offering to create more “elevated and premium” pieces.
The new pieces for Vault include carry-on, medium luggage and large luggage pieces alongside a new luggage tag and washable dust bag — with an aluminum frame, polycarbonate shell, TSA-approved latched locks, removable and washable inners, 360-degree wheels and the brand’s trolley handles. The five hues used for the collection are dark cherry, mushroom, onyx, navy and walnut.
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“We’ve never believed in one-size-fits-all luggage,” Jeannie Shin, vice president of marketing at Calpak, told WWD in an exclusive interview. “Our entire assortment is built on options. Different styles, different price points and different ways of packing — because travel isn’t one way and travelers aren’t one person.”
Notably, Shin also shared that Calpak’s business grew 165 percent and duffels grew 47 percent. And its luggage category grew 25 percent last year while its carry-on bestsellers doubled their sales.
With nearly 40 years in business, Shin said the brand has been around long enough to know “the difference between a moment and a trend” — especially as consumer demand has broadened, not slowed down. Notably, customers kept asking Calpak for more luggage options.
“The customers asking aren’t one customer,” explained Shin. “They range from someone who takes two or three trips a year to someone who’s on a plane 30 times a year — and those two people want different things and are prepared to spend differently to get them. The occasional traveler wants something beautiful and affordable. The constant traveler wants something that goes the long haul.”
She continued that Vault was created for “[consumers] who travel constantly.” Differentiators from other pieces on the market include a custom frame closure as opposed to a zipper and designing the brand’s own wheel base from scratch — which maximize packing space. Another notable feature is the handle locking in at any height to fit every traveler, allowing for ease of moving when on the go.
“We approached the launch through a heist and fine-art lens — the idea that your luggage is something worth protecting, something you’d put on a pedestal rather than in a closet,” she said.
While Vault is the company’s newest offering, Shin emphasized that the brand’s “accessible and design-forward” products continue to be a core part of its business. She said that Vault completes the brand’s range of offerings — with having a vast range of products being Calpak’s overall growth strategy.
“We set out to be a brand that serves multiple different travelers rather than one and last year that showed up almost everywhere at once. Our customer base is expanding in several directions at once, which is exactly what we set out to build. We’ll keep looking for the places our customers have outgrown what we make — new formats, new price tiers and new categories — and build there, at the same design standard,” concluded Shin.
Calpak’s Vault collection ranges from $450 to $525 and is available for purchase now.
