Travel ground to a standstill during the pandemic, but it’s now back with a vengeance.
Away is launching a new category of luggage to take advantage of this uptick. A week from today, the company is releasing a line of outdoor gear, called For All Routes (F.A.R), that includes duffel bags, convertible backpacks, and messenger bags made of water-resistant material, designed for hikes and road trips. Away is touting this launch as the next chapter in its brand evolution. After a damaging exposé about the brand’s toxic culture in 2019, followed by months of low sales when the pandemic hit, this new collection gives Away an opportunity to re-introduce itself to consumers in a post-pandemic world.
Away launched in 2015 with a hardshell suitcase that quickly became an Instagram fixture as customers shared pictures of their luggage on their travels. Cuan Hanly, Away’s chief design officer, says the suitcase remains the top selling product and he expects that it will continue to be the core of the business. But the suitcase and its matching accessories, like the carry-on duffel and tote bags with trolley sleeves, were primarily designed for air travel, particularly for people who went on frequent work trips. “The hard side luggage is fantastic in an urban environment, going from city to city,” Hanly says. “But we saw a desire for a product that could go a bit further.”Away has suffered several blows over the past three years, starting in December 2019, when the Verge published an in-depth piece in which former Away employees described how the startup’s inclusive branding was at odds with its toxic work culture. Then-CEO Steph Korey, whose management style the article described as being harsh, stepped away from the company, but then changed her mind in January 2020 and returned. She ultimately left the company later that year, and her co-founder Jen Rubio took over as CEO.
But by then the pandemic had struck, halting travel. Away saw a 90% drop in revenue and furloughed half of its employees. The startup’s 2020 revenues were about $135 million, half of what it made the year before. Hanly says the brand has been growing, particularly with the spike in travel, but he did not specify by how much. Still, in the last few years, many competing startups have had a chance to grow their brands and could post a threat to Away’s expansion, including eco-friendly travel brand Paravel, customizable luggage brand Roam, and Baboon to the Moon, which makes outdoorsy duffles and backpacks in bright colors, similar to Away’s F.A.R.
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