I did it! For years I wanted my Tumi Pullman. But every time I considered the price I said ‘no way’!
There is no way I could pay that much for a simple carry-on piece of luggage. I have made a point of walking into Tumi stores all over the world, with fingers crossed, hoping to see a reduction in price on my favourite piece of luggage. Somehow, in a moment of seeming weakness, I bought the laptop bag a few years ago and, notwithstanding its daily use, it’s still going strong, but I still mourn the loss of that particular chunk of money.
Tumi is arguably among the strongest and most durable brands of travel luggage in the world today. It is a good product but it is also a proud and perhaps arrogant product as well. When I first fell in love with Tumi the Manager of the store in New York said in response to my plea for a discount “Tumi never discounts. They do not waiver in price”.
Over the years, I have found myself repeating that statement to several friends and relatives as they sought to persuade me that if I could simply ‘hold strain’ the price of those wonder bags would come tumbling down. But, alas, they never did.
I tried Thanksgiving Weekend, July 4th Weekend, Memorial Day, President’s Day, even Martin Luther King Day in the United States, but no matter what was going on in the major department stores and stand alone specialty shops around, Tumi remained firm. Its staff was like a broken record. “Sorry, Tumi never discounts!”
So my recent stroll through the West Florida Mall was merely “time chilling”. My flight was not for another five hours and I really had no special purchase in mind. Indeed, I was already “luggage out”, as my two checked pieces were in transit to my next destination, and I had my lone Tumi laptop piece in tow with me, as it always is.
Then, while chatting on my phone, as usual, and just browsing store after store, I actually walked by the entrance of this particular store, but the most amazing Pullman bag caught my attention and even more amazing was the super large sign splashed across the show window that read “20 per cent discount storewide”.
Wow! I loved that bag and, as if my journey into dreamland was unending, I peered further at the bag to discover it was nothing else but, you guessed it, a Tumi. Actually, it was a Tumi store.
I rushed inside and the Sales Attendant, who recognized me immediately, rushed to the door, exclaiming “so you got the news!” What news, I asked? “We have a 20 per cent sale storewide and it ends this weekend”. Wow! That was like music to the ear. But, it couldn’t be! Tumi never has sales!
“Well, Sir, business has been so slow that the parent company decided that as a means of boosting sales, it would offer a 20 per cent cut across the board on every single item. I have been working in this store for six years, and this is the first sale of such magnitude we have had”. Well, I said to myself, if Tumi has put its entire stock on sale, business must be slow.
Some businesses in Europe and North America know how to beat a recession. Boasting about how you never have sales is one thing, but keeping your cash rolling over and stock levels high is another.
Well, it goes without saying that I made the Tumi purchase. Indeed, I got an even larger discount because of a special promotion that was going on in that particular mall, whereby visitors from ‘out of town’ were given an extra 11 per cent rebate on all purchases. So I am today the proud owner of my special Tumi luggage set and I am inclined next time I visit the US to return to that mall and that store in particular.
That is how business is conducted in the real world. That is why I cannot understand the business model of some companies in my native land who appear bent on letting their goods dry rot in the store before they drop the price and move the items, so as to remain current with style and fashion.
Furthermore, we are in the midst of a global recession and just as business is down, so too is the spending and purchasing power of customers. It therefore makes no sense some of our hotels in particular demanding exorbitant room rates and food and beverage prices, when the comparable property and meal, offered by the competition, can be accessed for a third of what is being demanded here.
I look forward with interest to the upcoming Budget Debate, because it will be interesting to hear what advice politicians and social commentators give to business persons seeking to keep their doors open and staff employed in these difficult times.
No amount of concessions from the government or breaks in taxes can assist a company that is not doing the required volume of business as a result of unrealistic and exorbitant prices.
The tenure of long standing staff is being threatened because of greed in some instances. If you affix an 80 or 100 per cent mark up and the product is not moving, then cut the profit margin, sell the item, and replace it with what’s new and what’s hot. The same goes for local restaurants. Mother’s Day was terrific for some. You attracted tremendous local business. Don’t wait now for Father’s Day or Valentine’s next year, keep offering a few weekend specials until Crop over comes around and volume increases. In this way, you aid your cash flow, worker morale is high and your supplier thinks highly of you because you are “doing good business”.
Tumi and Louis Vuitton are among brands once considered ‘sale proof’. They catered strictly to the discerning and up-market buyer, but, reality stepped in and they realized that in this guava crop, the trick of the trade is regular turn over, even if it means a dip in mark up or focusing exclusively on volume.
Budget Day is Monday and there realistically cannot be any major surprises in terms of concessions and giveaways. The hands of the Minister of Finance are tied. His predecessor said so during the recent Estimates Debate. Indeed, if one were to take the former Minister of Finance at his word, we would all be shuddering at the thought of what could be in the proverbial black box.
But, we must not despair. Whatever Mr. Thompson can do, I am sure he will do to help the vulnerable and to encourage the progressive and conscientious. Let us work smart in the weeks and months ahead. Let us do what is necessary to keep our doors open and our loyal staff employed.
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