Tumi Inc.

Tumi, Inc.
Company typeSubsidiary
FoundedUnited States (1975)
FounderCharlie Clifford
HeadquartersEdison, New Jersey, U.S.
ParentSamsonite
Websitewww.tumi.com
A Tumi store in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware

Tumi Holdings, Inc., is a manufacturer of high-end luxury suitcases and bags for travel based in Edison, New Jersey. Founded in 1975 by Charlie Clifford after a stint in the Peace Corps in Peru, the company is named after a Peruvian tumi ceremonial knife used for sacrifices.[1] Tumi, Inc. was a unit of Doughty Hanson & Co. from 2004 until after its 2012 initial public offering.[2][3]

Tumi's products are known for their black-on-black ballistic nylon.[4] Tumi is available at department stores and specialty stores, as well as over 120 Tumi stores and 200 shops around the world.[5]

Tumi also supplies accessories such as belts, pens, and electronic equipment. The company teamed with designer Anish Kapoor in 2006 to produce the PowerPack Backpack that incorporated solar technology for charging phones and PDAs.[6] The company also had a licensing agreement with the Italian motorcycle manufacturer Ducati to launch a collection of eight co-branded pieces in 2006, sold through both of the brands' retail outlets.[7]

Tumi puts a metal plate with a unique 20-digit registration number in each of its bags. Customers can register for the Tumi Tracer program to have their contact information entered into a central database so they can be reunited with their bag if it is found.[8]

In 2004, Doughty Hanson & Co, a London-based private equity firm, took over Tumi for $276 million. The takeover came with a price drop in their products and a change in warranty from their famed lifetime warranty to 5 years. However, beyond the 5 years, the brand does still offer its customers a lifetime service and repair warranty, with possible assessed fees and costs.[citation needed]

Jerome Griffith became the CEO of Tumi, Inc. in 2009.[9]

On April 19, 2012, Tumi made an initial public offering of 18,779,865 shares, as Tumi Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: TUMI).[10] In December 2013, Joseph R. Gromek was named Chairman of Board of Directors.[11]

Tumi store in Westfield Topanga & The Village

On March 4, 2016, Samsonite announced it would acquire Tumi in an all-cash transaction worth $1.8 billion.[12]

In November 2019, McLaren announced a partnership agreement with Tumi as the official luggage partner for McLaren Racing and McLaren Automotive.[13]

  1. ^ "Tumi, Inc". Google Finance. 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-28.
  2. ^ "Tumi, Inc". Hoover's. 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-28.
  3. ^ "How I Did It: Tumi's Charlie Clifford". Inc Magazine. May 2011.
  4. ^ "Tumi: Luxury Luggage, and a Lot More". Business Week. 2007-01-24. Archived from the original on February 8, 2007. Retrieved 2009-03-28.
  5. ^ "The high season for luggage and briefcases kicks off". The Panama Post. 2008-12-29. Retrieved 2009-03-28.
  6. ^ "Tumi Time: PowerPack Backpack". Business Week. 2007-01-24. Archived from the original on March 8, 2012. Retrieved 2009-03-28.
  7. ^ "Tumi Time: Tumi+Ducati Collection". Business Week. 2007-01-24. Archived from the original on March 8, 2012. Retrieved 2009-03-28.
  8. ^ Higgins, Michelle (2005-09-04). "So, Which Bag Did You Say Was Yours?". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-03-28.
  9. ^ "Jerome Griffith, President and CEO of Tumi". yahoo.com.
  10. ^ "TUMI HOLDINGS, INC. (TUMI) IPO". NASDAQ.com. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  11. ^ Young, Vicki M. (9 December 2013). "Joseph R. Gromek Named Tumi Chairman". WWD. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
  12. ^ "Samsonite to acquire Tumi for US$26.75 per share to create a leading global travel lifestyle comopany" (PDF). Samsonite.com.
  13. ^ "McLaren Racing - McLaren announces TUMI as official luggage partner". www.mclaren.com. 2019-11-26.