Bengaluru/Mumbai: War-driven cost pressures are deepening an already weak travel cycle, dampening luggage makers’ peak summer season and pushing them to pivot to smaller, lower-priced products from bigger suitcases. Higher airfares and geopolitical uncertainty have hit suitcase sales, forcing brands to lean on backpacks and accessories to protect volumes without eroding margins.
The April-June quarter accounts for about 40% of annual sales for luggage brands as families typically spend more on holidays and leisure travel. But companies said that this year, geopolitical disruptions, higher domestic travel costs, and a sharp rise in crude oil-linked raw materials have dampened the typical seasonal optimism, forcing brands to rethink their growth strategies.
According to ratings firm Icra, India’s domestic air passenger traffic grew just 1.6% year-on-year between April 2025 and February 2026, slowing from 16% in full FY24 and 7.6% in FY25. Icra said the moderation suggests that the post-pandemic travel boom had already begun to ease even before the recent geopolitical disruptions.
Higher fares, operational disruptions and geopolitical tensions have made leisure travel more expensive, weighing on discretionary purchases such as luggage.
This underscores a broader challenge of sustaining demand in a discretionary category, as consumers turn more price-sensitive during phases of turmoil. Brands are increasingly focusing on smaller, more frequent purchases to offset slower big-ticket luggage sales.
Reshaping sector Industry data suggests the strategy could reshape the sector over time. India’s luggage market is projected to reach ₹67 billion by 2028, growing at 12% annually, with branded players accounting for 52% of industry sales, according to a 2025 September thematic report by Motilal Oswal.
Backpacks now account for about 17% of the overall luggage market, while categories such as handbags and other travel accessories together take the share of non-suitcase segments to over half of the total mix. This reflects a broader shift is underway, where companies are increasingly expanding beyond core trolley luggage into adjacencies that offer higher purchase frequency and stronger consumer engagement.
