Bringing down the cost of luxury goods through direct-to-consumer sales isn’t a new trend. We’ve seen companies like Warby Parker, Casper and more succeed in the space.
But today, a new company is coming out of stealth to bring the D2C value proposition to the world of luggage.
Away, founded by Jen Rubio and Stephanie Korey, is looking to bring a high-end portfolio of luggage products to the masses. The company has raised $2.5 million in seed funding co-led by Forerunner Ventures and Accel Partners.
According to the founders, luggage suffers from the same markups as other products like mattresses, etc. because the brand takes a huge profit chunk from cost of manufacturing, and then retailers take a similarly large markup. At the end of the day, high-end luggage ends up costing around $500, which comes out to around 5x the cost of making the product.
Away, tapping a manufacturer in China, sources their own components (like the best German polycarbonate and high-end Japanese wheels) can bring that cost way down by selling directly to consumers without any part of the profits going to middle men.
The company hasn’t finalized pricing quite yet, but it’s safe to assume that the Away luggage (which comes in a variety of sizes and colors) will be closer to $200 than $500.
Alongside high-end materials, Away luggage will also offer some additional tech, such as the ability to charge devices and a way to track the location of luggage through an accompanying app.
Away plans to launch officially in late 2015.
If you want to learn more about Away luggage, hit up the website here.
