e truly focussed on all aspects of our customers’ lives to ensure only the best is in their hands,” Tumi’s creative director Victor Sanz told Inside Retail.  “As we worked with professional athletes and enthusiasts, we realised that the need to create gear to protect their equipment [is] just as important as the equipment itself.” It was this desire to create gear specific to gaming enthusiasts that led Tumi to partner with Razer – one of the biggest manufacturers and retailers of gaming accessories and laptops in the world. An undervalued, billion-dollar market Gaming is one of the fastest growing entertainment markets in the world, being valued at US$198.4 billion in 2021, and expected to be worth US$339.95 billion by 2027 according to Mordor Intelligence. Having spread from desktop computers to consoles, and dedicated handheld devices to smartphones, gaming is more accessible than ever and is increasingly influencing popular culture, with games such as Fortnite, Minecraft and Roblox bringing together millions of players.  Despite this, ‘gamers’ as a customer subgroup are largely ignored by retailers, despite the fact that 35 per cent of people identify themselves as gamers, according to a report by Finbold.com. More than half of this group is in the Asia Pacific region. Within the gaming community, Razer’s equipment is often industry leading and finds a middle ground between the sometimes gaudy ‘gamer chic’ of multicoloured LED lights and the cool utilitarianism popularised by Apple. “Razer was at the top of the list… [and] it was an amazing back and forth of ideas and concepts to find the perfect blend. We developed multiple iterations to find the ones that were exciting and special to the esports community,” Sanz said. “[Gamers] appreciate performance, durability, style and functionality… [and our] collection is representative of the high performance, durable, luxe pieces we produce, making it accessible to consumers outside of esports as well.” The collection is largely based on Tumi’s existing products, though only 1337 of each product have been made: a play on how the word ‘elite’ is written in internet language ‘leetspeak’. As part of Tumi’s focus on sustainability, the products have a recycled polycarbonate shell, which makes the luggage lightweight, flexible and durable, while also easy on the planet. “Sustainability is part of [our] core DNA, with the highest level being our ‘built-to-last’ thinking,” Sanz said. “We want to keep the product on the road, and in our customers’ lives for generations.” “We are thrilled to partner with Tumi to bring this exclusive collection to our gaming community,” said Addie Tan, associate director of business development at Razer.  “We know that our fans lead active lifestyles and sometimes have to carry their valuable battle stations with them while they are on the go. So, we wanted to arm them with high quality travel gear, offering them a balance of versatility and functionality so that they can keep winning, even on the go.”