Travel boom spurs sales of suitcases, cigarettes and cosmetics

Samsonite SA

19/05/2022 11:00

By Doyinsola Oladipo
    May 19 (Reuters) - As more people resume travel and plan
vacations, retailers and consumer product companies including
U.S. discount chain Target and cosmetics maker Coty are
benefiting from a jump in luggage sales and increased spending
at airports.
    Duty-free shops and makers of travel-related items like
suitcases saw sales stall during COVID-19 lockdowns across the
world, but travel-related business is taking off again. United
Airlines  UAL.O  last month forecast the highest quarterly
revenue in its history.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL2N2WI2CH
    Target Corp  TGT.N  said on Tuesday ahead of its quarterly
earnings release that luggage sales grew by 50% in the first
quarter of 2022. 
    "We are now seeing guests who might have been buying TV's
last year, this year they're looking at luggage because they're
getting ready to travel for the first time," Target's Chief
Executive Brian Cornell told reporters.
    Samsonite International S.A.  1910.HK , which makes Tumi and
American Tourister bags, last week said its quarterly sales rose
75% from a year earlier.
    The corporate anecdotes dovetails with signs of a shift in
U.S. household consumption back toward services after two years
of outsized spending on big ticket goods while they were largely
cooped up at home. 
    Commerce Department data for March, the latest available,
showed the share of total spending devoted to recreation,
accommodation and dining out climbed to a pandemic-era high of
10.33%. That is up from just over 6% early in the health crisis.
    A higher number of travelers passing through airports is
also lifting prospects for goods sold at stores there, such as
perfume, designer makeup and liquor. 
    In the United States, TSA checkpoint travel numbers for 
last seven days are on average 36.33% higher than during the
same time in 2021.
    "People are shopping fragrances globally today more than
ever before. All levels are above 2020-2019," said Coty Inc
 COTY.N  CEO Sue Nabi earlier this month, adding that the global
beauty company expects the momentum to continue.
    Tobacco companies Imperial Brands  IMB.L  and Philip Morris
International  PM.N  said they were starting to see recovery of
sales in duty-free shops at airports around the world, including
in Europe and the Middle East. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N2X9222

 (Additional reporting by Dan Burns; Editing by Anna Driver and
Bill Berkrot)
 ((Doyinsola.Oladipo2@thomsonreuters.com;))