Outlets selling reputed brands such as American Tourister, Crocodile, John Polo, Polo, Wrangler, Images, Reebok, Rockland and Samsonite said their market expended largly because of people going abroad for education, professional, leisure and jobs prefer their products. [break]And quality of materials and durability were two specific factors that have rendered these brands popular in the market.
Manoj Kumar Saraogi, proprietor of Citywalk at Durbarmarg, informed that luggages sold in the Nepali market were mainly imported from countries such as Singapore, Thailand, India, Malaysia, Hong Kong and China.
As the customers are sensitive to durability, material and design, luggage makers these days compete more on these aspects. Considering the demand, luggages of popular brands these days were made of polycarbonate-- a thermoplastic material that has a hard coating and is flexible and scratch-resistant.
“As a result, the prices of luggages have also gone up in the range of 10 to 20 percent,” Saraogi stated.
Traders said people leaving the country for a longer period take multiple sized baggages, inlcuding hand carry. Domestic travellers, on the other hand, prefer medium to small sized baggages. “Among overseas travellers, those going for executive purpose and vacation largely prefer hand baggage,” informed Saraogi.
Hand luggage from John Polo ranges from Rs 6,000 to Rs 9,000 while luggage from Wrangler is available in the range of Rs 4,000 to Rs 7,000.
Similarly, luggage from Images is found in the range of Rs 6,000 to Rs 8,000 and Reebok is available in the range of Rs 7,000 to Rs 10,000. Samsonite is available with price ranging from Rs 5,500 to Rs 7,000.
Kalpana KC, proprietor of Kripa´s Collection at Bishalbazar echoed Saraogi´s views and said the demand for luggage was growing as the number of people leaving the country had increased.
“Customers these days give priority to the brand, quality and durability and budget does not matter much to them,” said KC.
“I especially buy lighter luggage as they do not add much to the weight,” said Arjun Maharjhan, a local customer who was choosing luggage at Kripa´s collection.
He added gone were the days when travelers carried huge Hartmann or Louis Vuitton steamer trunk that were very heavy, and there was a wide veriety of models available in the market these days.
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