Anhui Korrun's Ninetygo set to diversify luggage products as wanderlust rises

Ninetygo, the neo travel lifestyle brand owned by Anhui Korrun Co Ltd, the first Shenzhen Stock Exchange-listed domestic suitcase manufacturer in China, plans to further diversify its product lines, to meet demand from the rising number of Chinese business and vacation travelers.

Ninetygo will add the latest fashion elements to its designs in a bid to catch up with other global players, Anhui Korrun executives said.

The company will not only enhance its supply chain in economies such as Indonesia and India but recruit more designers from countries such as Singapore, Japan and South Korea. Besides, it will expand its global presence through more flexible branding strategies, international designers and innovation.

Earlier this month, Ninetygo teamed up with former Hermes designer Ludovic Alban to launch the new Ninetygo X L, a Nice series of luggage, at the Pompidou National Centre for Art and Culture in France.

Driven by globalization, more convenient visa access and increasing transport links to various global destinations, the frequency of vacations abroad will increase, said Fan Jinsong, founder and chairman of Anhui Korrun.

Chinese tourists spent $127.5 billion overseas in the first half of this year, according to a report released by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Oct 6.

On the back of Chinese tourists' consumption, Asia took the lion's share of 54 percent of the total. The Americas ranked second, accounting for 24 percent, followed by Europe with 13 percent, the report showed.

According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization, the number of global travelers will exceed 1.8 billion by 2030. China is considered the world's fastest-growing tourism market and will play a key role in the sector's development.

"Therefore, the new market trend has pushed us to look for insights into contemporary young people's needs, collect various scenes of these consumers, develop a variety of products and travel solutions for urban youth's daily commuting, vacations, travels and other activities," Fan said.

Regarding the company's Nice series of products launched in France, Fan said the rapid development of the e-commerce has accelerated the pace of people's lives. Young consumers' demand for travel products is no longer limited to the practical and the functional. Personal items are used to make statements about tastes and value systems, he said.

According to Fan, the Nice series comes not only with luggage but a whole series of cosmetic bags and lipstick bags. The company wishes these items can meet various needs during a vacation, to enhance the user experience, not just create fashionable looks.

"Toward the next step, we will continue to raise our research and development based on multi-dimensional scenes such as pre-trip storage, travel entertainment, business travel, parent-child amusement, and hotel sleep to further enrich our product lines," Fan said.

As an emerging travel lifestyle brand, Ninetygo provides traveland outdoor-related products like suitcases, backpacks, storage bags, functional clothes and shoes, which aim to serve the new generation of urbanites who want to reward themselves with modern, high-quality experiences that adapt to multiple travel scenarios.

Since its establishment in 2015, the brand has built a market presence in 48 countries and regions across the world. It also operates physical stores in Japan.

In terms of the domestic market, with the majority of Ninetygo products selling online, Fan said the company will open more brick-and-mortar shops throughout China over the next three years. It will also enhance its sales channels in overseas markets, in particular in countries such as Japan, South Korea and the United States, to further compete with its global rivals.

China's well-developed high-speed railway and e-commerce networks are perfect infrastructure for consumers in lower-tier cities or towns to travel, work and check the product information via their smartphones. This information equivalence expands the luggage market beyond the major cities, Fan said.

To cope with rising operational costs and minimize the effect caused by the ongoing China-US trade dispute, Anhui Korrun will continue to explore new market growth points in markets of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, as well as expand its factory business in the region, Fan said.

Thanks to its business-to-business model and flexible operational strategies, the Shanghai-headquartered company saw its sales revenue rise in the first half of this year. It also completed an acquisition deal for an Indonesia-based plant and expanded client base with companies such as Nike Inc. It operates factories in China, India and Indonesia,

"Chinese consumers, especially millennials, want to enjoy life... they care about their individuality and love to travel, and when it comes to shopping in both online and offline channels, they have unique tastes," said He Xiaoqing, global partner at A.T. Kearney, the US-based management counseling firm.

To woo them, many global brands from travel, outdoor, fashion and cosmetics sectors have already allocated more financial resources to new product design, marketing and are forming new cross-industry partnerships with other businesses, she said.