1. How do you curate your brand selection, and what specific criteria do you use to determine which luggage and travel accessory brands make it into your store?
Over the years we’ve become pretty picky about the brands we carry. Quality and reputation are very important to us. Style is subjective, but we do try and carry collections that would be a step above what we would expect a traveler to find at a department store. We look for strong brands that support independent retail and that contribute to driving traffic to our store. We also expect all of our brands to provide good backup to warranty and repair issues. Ultimately we want to offer products we would not hesitate to choose for ourselves and our families.
2. Can you walk us through the unique value propositions of some of your most popular brands like Briggs & Riley, Pacsafe, and Cotopaxi, and how they differentiate themselves in the travel accessories market?
Well, Briggs is our favourite brand. It makes very smart luggage and has a warranty that does what people expect a warranty to do, which is to cover the damage that can occur when a bag travels the world. This really sets it apart from every other luggage brand.
Pacsafe has a very interesting product lineup where the idea of Travel Security is front and centre of every bag it has put out. It has come out so strongly with these features, that it’s actually pressured the market to bend to it and you now see many other brands incorporating travel security features into their bags.
Eagle Creek has been around quite a long time and has always gotten by as a high-quality, softer, and sportier travel brand. About 15 years ago it really found its niche when it began introducing a collection of travel organization pieces. I’m not sure if it invented packing cubes and folding panels for travel, but it certainly was at the front of the trend and helped create travel organizers as an actual category in luggage stores across Canada.
3. What are the key factors travellers should consider when selecting luggage for different types of trips—business, adventure, long-term travel, or weekend getaways?
Yikes. The biggest question is often whether someone is trying to travel carry-on only or if they are willing to check a bag. Another big question would be budget and expectation and how and where those meet. There is a lot I could say about all of those different types of trips, and while there are some generalities, it’s probably best to talk to a traveller one-on-one to figure out what might suit them best. I think we’ve ended up with a store full of bags so that we can offer people solutions to all of those different types of travel.
4. Describe the most innovative features you've seen in recent luggage designs that truly enhance the traveller's experience, and which brands are leading this innovation?
More and more bags will have compartments for air tags and charging bricks as well as external ports for plugging in your devices to charge. Ultimately a bag's main function is to get your belongings to their destination and the fundamental nature of a travel bag remains the same. Having a suitcase that can expand is not a new concept or new technology, but essentially getting two suitcase sizes out of one bag has changed the way people choose a suitcase. After that, wheels are probably the most important feature that can enhance a traveller’s experience, which is led by Briggs & Riley of course.
5. What are the most common mistakes travellers make when choosing luggage, and what expert advice can you provide to help them make more informed decisions?
The most common mistake has to be misunderstanding a brand's warranty. It is unfortunate but true that just because a bag has a warranty it doesn’t necessarily mean it will cover your bag for any and all issues. It is important for folks to read a brand's warranty statement carefully so they know what to expect if things go wrong. The second most common mistake is thinking that every bag is built for the same number of trips, which is unfortunately not the case. It can be like someone thinking sandals and marathon running shoes are built for the same purpose…they both fit your feet!!
6. How do different materials used in luggage construction impact durability, weight, and overall travel performance?
In a pretty big way! In the world of hard-side luggage, there are essentially 3 different types of plastics that are used to make hard-sided suitcases. The most durable of these seems to be polypropylene. Polycarbonate is the most popular due to its weight and sheen, but if someone is after durability and performance, they usually end up with a polypropylene suitcase. Even though they end up looking pretty scuffed, they are pretty difficult to crack.
If a traveller prefers soft-side luggage and is looking for durability, we would generally guide them to a higher denier (more durable) textile, preferably nylon, and of course quality wheels, pull handles, and zippers which all go a long way to determining the life expectancy of a suitcase.
7. Can you explain the significance of warranty and repair services in the luggage industry, and how do brands like Briggs & Riley stand out in this aspect?
Warranty is almost a misunderstood word because many consumers believe they are purchasing a bag with a guarantee when in reality most brands do not have enough belief in their own product to dare offer a guarantee. Briggs is one of a few rare exceptions to this in that it actually has created a warranty that does what a traveller expects, covering damage that occurs when travelling (bags get very beaten through use!). Its suitcases have serial numbers inside that allow any Briggs repair shop to perform a warranty claim without the customer even being asked for proof of purchase.
8. What trends are you seeing in travel accessories that go beyond traditional luggage—such as smart luggage, tech integration, or sustainable manufacturing?
In terms of travel accessories, the trends and concerns of customers are for products that are lightweight and compact and also products that offer security against theft. Wallets and bags increasingly offer pockets and pouches with RFID-blocking liner fabrics that help to keep personal and financial information safe. Pacsafe, our primary anti-theft travel bag brand, is frequently innovating newer and more robust ways to keep people in contact with their belongings.
On the sustainability front we have watched brands over the past couple of years make efforts to move toward recycled plastics and fibres and away from PFAS where possible. Innovations in materials design have found different ways of making bags water-resistant.
9. How do you help customers select the right bag for their specific needs, considering factors like body type, travel frequency, and intended use?
Really the only bags that take body type into consideration are backpacks. Better backpacks will often have a different model for male body types and female body types, and then those different male/female collections will often have the ability to adjust the torso length of the harness, the hip strap, the sternum strap and the top keepers in order to best fit a bag to a certain body type.
Travel frequency and intended use do indeed play a very big part in helping someone select their bag. If the intended use is heavy travel or business travel a customer may even end up with an old-school two-wheeled suitcase! Other times a customer may ask for a bag that is intended to be a maxed out “personal case” which would lead them to a certain size of bag but would then have to narrow it down to a shoulder bag, tote bag, or of course, backpack.
Helping customers figure out how to configure the different bags they need to take on their trip is a big part of the support we provide in-store. For instance, someone may be deciding between rolling luggage, backpacks, and carry-ons and how a personal item is going to fit into that equation. You probably don’t want a carry-on backpack and a personal item backpack so it comes down to what you would rather carry on your back and then go from there for the other piece.
10. What are the key differences between carry-on, checked luggage, and specialty bags, and what should travellers consider when making these selections?
Carry-on and checked luggage do not differ fundamentally from each other except in size. Carry-on luggage is more likely to have more feature pockets, and increasingly the option to wear them back-pack style.
11. Discuss the importance of organizational features in modern luggage and how brands like Cotopaxi and Osprey approach internal storage and accessibility.
Eagle Creek has really led the way in the idea of packing organization with cubes and folders to give an organized home to everything in your bag. There has been a huge increase in the popularity and availability of backpacks that open suitcase-style and have separated compartments within. Patagonia is the first of these that we have had with its MLC and Mini MLC travel backpacks. It is so much easier to stay streamlined and organized in a backpack if you can zip it open flat and have things separated as you like. Different brands in the industry have been taking up this trend and introducing their own versions of the suitcase-backpack and so customers are really spoiled for choice.
12. How do security features in brands like Pacsafe address modern travellers' concerns about theft and personal safety?
I think a brand like Pacsafe has almost created a new category. 25 years ago we had a few different money bands, undercover wallets, and ways to keep your cash separate and tucked away on yourself. Nowadays travellers are very aware of pickpocketing and theft in train stations and tourist sites and go out of their way to find bags like a Pacsafe that are RFID-proof, lockable, can be secured to a chair, locked to a cabana, etc. and are in some cases slash-proof as well.
13. From your perspective, how are sustainability and environmental concerns influencing luggage design and consumer choices in the travel accessories market?
Well, there is a very small percentage of consumers who seem to actually be concerned with the sustainability of what they are purchasing. Many brands pay lip service to their “sustainability story” but at the same time don’t provide parts for repairs or any good way to extend the life of a bag. Luggage is a strange category. Making something more sustainable means trying to keep it out of the landfill…that essentially means making something more robust, which drives up the weight and the cost of a bag, which is counter to what most consumers want, which is less weight and less cost. Of all the brands we carry, Patagonia would by far have the most impressive amount of environmental awareness.
14. What advanced repair technologies or techniques have you implemented in recent years that set your service apart from standard repair shops, particularly for complex issues like wheel mechanisms, telescoping handles, and zipper replacements?
Does a mechanized sewing machine count?? Ha ha. Repairs are still very manual and there really isn’t anything new that we are using other than glues that are improved from what they used to be. Otherwise, we are often trying to get the right pull handle and wheels from various brands. Luggage repair ends up being a lot of part adaptations which require drilling, grinding, cutting and usually swearing.