Samsonite has seen its profitability improve thanks to innovation: the new suitcases, easier to roll and tougher, are boosting sales.
Yet these “wheelie” suitcases of every brand, which flood stations and airports, are also an illustration of the unmeasured, unanticipated impacts of innovation…
Have you noticed the “wake” – to borrow a nautical term – or better still the “train path”, to choose a railway image, of a wheelie-suitcase user? Mindful of the sector ahead but heedless of what is happening behind, this traveller takes up twice as much public space, with their rolling, sturdy extension conquering the ankles of all comers, as someone carrying a traditional suitcase or a fan of shoulder bags!
No doubt an illustration of what “experts” can come up with without thinking usage through to the end. Because after-sales service does not include training in how to use the product with respect for others (rolling the suitcase beside you rather than behind you, for example)…
At least supporting implementation is an essential lever that companies think of when they roll out new tools! Or is it…?
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