Mr Charles Yong, General Manager

Rimowa’s General Manager Charles Yong has a distinctive business card, shaped like a piece of the well-known brand’s luggage, complete with ribbing and handle. The card stands out from all the other business cards, just as the ribbed bags are instantly recognisable on a baggage carousel. The company’s tag line, “Every case tells a story,” is an apt description of the entire collection of luggage lines offered by the company.

“It’s the lightest, toughest luggage available. Our hard cases are made of aluminium and high-tech polycarbonate and come in many colours, so they are easy to find among hundreds of other bags. Our brand is comparable to other outstanding German products, such as Porsche and BMW, and our products come in a variety of deluxe styles. People like to buy high-quality goods, and they like to be recognised as having done so,” said Yong, head of Rimowa Far East Ltd, whose territory includes Hong Kong, Macao, China, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines. Indonesia and Vietnam offices are on the drawing board for 2009, to be followed by India and Sri Lanka.

The company knew it would be successful as it grew along with commercial aviation. Rimowa luggage was always the first choice for flight crews as well as being extremely popular with passengers, and as air travel took off in the 1930s and after the Second World War in the 1950s, so did the company. In 1976, Rimowa's product designers expanded into a new area, creating waterproof bags for cameras and other gear carried around inhospitable locations by professional photographers and filmmakers. The specially designed bags protected sensitive still and video equipment from extreme heat and cold, and shielded it from humidity as well.

“We are always conducting a constant search for better materials and more flexible interiors, as needs change for the constant business traveller. The light aluminum and polycarbonate materials are impact-resistant no matter how roughly the bags are handled. Dents practically pop themselves out. Our Salsa Deluxe line offers better wheel housings, TSA locks to get through security, special handles and more luxurious linings as well,” he pointed out.

Although he is aware that the current market conditions may reduce business and pleasure travel, he feels that high-quality goods always sell well. In a downturn, people are more cautious with their money and want to buy the most durable lugguage. People will spend their money more wisely, Yong thinks.

With the outstanding durability of Rimowa luggage, it would be logical that the company has few repeat customers, but Yong said many of his clients return to buy another size of bag, or get another colour. They also buy luggage as gifts and they bring their friends, so the product sells through word of mouth as well as through conventional advertising and marketing techniques.

“We are getting more referrals from travellers who are aware of the airline restrictions on weight. Our bags can save you two kilograms for each bag, meaning you can take more with you in every piece of our luggage. The lightest bags also appeal to women travellers,” he said.

The German company has constantly challenged market perceptions of how luxury luggage should perform and appear. Since Yong took over the Hong Kong operations in 2003, the brand’s business has grown by almost 30-fold, especially impressive when each bag can cost over HK$3,000 each for the top-of-the line Salsa products. That means that a lot of discerning travellers choose Rimowa over all other brands.

Rimowa’s greatest selling points are light weight and extreme sturdiness, yet the company continues to innovate by introducing new materials and treatments, such as gold-anodised aluminum in the Topas Gold range, and more recently, the introduction of polycarbonate in 2000, a material used in the construction of bullet-proof windows, which is reflected in the popular, up market Salsa Deluxe collection, broadening its general appeal.

Yong’s 30 years of experience of marketing luxury goods led him to create Rimowa as a leading brand in Hong Kong within just a few years of his arrival. Separating Rimowa’s distinctive bags from the mass showrooms of B-grade outlets, he created a flagship showroom just off Queen’s Road Central on Hong Kong Island, and vastly improved the point-of-sale presentations to elevate the brand with his network of dealers, both in Hong Kong and around Asia. Should a Rimowa suitcase develop some problem, this class brand is ready with professional help, with replacement parts and service at selected repair shops in major cities and also at selected top hotels where most guests can have the bag repaired and returned within 24 hours.

“It’s important to be present, to meet dealers face-to-face. Rimowa does not have to resort to gimmicks to sell luggage. All we have to do is increase the brand awareness and teach people about the quality of the luggage and our service. We rarely have unhappy customers,” he said, smiling.
- Bonnie E Engel

PHILOSOPHY
Rimowa’s mission is to be the first choice worldwide among all people who place special demands on travelling. Demands on quality, function and design, and more importantly demands on an authentic vacation experience. Rimowa remains the lightest and toughest luggage and is proud of its long heritage as one of the most gripping travel companions of the world. Visionary Dieter Morszeck, head of Rimowa, has a slogan, “Handcraft Meets High Tech,” a policy which he practises today, to win over more distributors, showrooms and satisfied customers

FAST FACTS
• The first Rimowa bag was produced in the Paul Morszeck luggage: factory in 1898 in Cologne
• Using aircraft aluminium, a material from the early days of aviation, the lightweight Rimowa trunk was born in 1937
• In 1949, Rimowa built the first luggage: made of structural aluminium
• The development of a new series of cases for camera, photographic and then television equipment followed in 1976
• In 2000, the company used polycarbonate, which is highly impact resistant, extending the life of each piece of luggage
• Rimowa plans to be a worldwide brand for several hundred years by using expert craftsmanship, high-quality materials and precision manufacturing
• Rimowa is an indispensable supplier of travel equipment