Travel Brands

I recently returned from a trip to Panama and while there I couldn't help but notice the different brands of the different travelers.  First of all you have to understand that Central America is a haven for travelers.  It's a conglomorate of Europeans travelling for 1-2 months, Australian college students looking to get a way for 6 months, rich latins who spend time in another country flaunting their cash, business men doing deals in developing countries and the dread locked nomadic "dude I just love the laid back lifestyle" hippies who hang out for months at a time and who knows how long they end up staying there.  Oh and did I mention the crazy Americans who have given up on the country and are drawn to the cheap real estate and semi-Americanized culture (in Costa Rica and Panama at least).  Then there are the typical Americans who only have a few days off of work because we all work so hard.  We spent 9 days in country and everyone thought we were crazy, I thought it was a good amount of time until we heard the stories of people hanging around and traveling all throughout Latin America.

Anyway, back to the subject at hand.  The adventurers and Typical American travelers are the ones who pack for the trip.  They wear the clothing that is best suited for travel and the conditions they will encounter.  If you look at the different brands that are available that tout themselves as "Travel Brands" you can easily recognize many of them and many you didn't even know existed.  Ex-Oficio is a travel brand.  They want to be known as a travel brand plain and simple.  Their clothing is for those who want to have good looking apparel that is somewhat performance based but the branding is all about the Jet Setter.  Many companies have "Travel" as a category now.  For example Patagonia has a Travel section see here.  Another well known company that is making headway into the apparel realm is Merrell.  They like Patagonia, have a Travel section.

Of all the brands that I saw in all of Panama ironically old faithful Columbia was the most visible brand.  I saw many travelers, businessmen, adventure seekers, and fishermen wearing the Columbia Omni-Dry shirts.  Multiple times I saw the hats and shoes.  Somehow Columbia has resonated with the traveling types.  I have a couple of theories on this.  First, the price point.  Columbia is affordable and many deft travelers are used to traveling on budgets and want to get the best bang for their buck.  Second, Columbia has penetrated the Latin market better than many of the aforementioned brands.  I saw many Latins wearing Columbia which leads me to believe that a concerted marketing effort has been made world wide.  And it has paid off.  I saw fishermen from Europe with Columbia on, backpackers from Argentina, Americans that were laying on a beach all wearing the brand.  What does this mean?  Well, I'm not sure if Columbia intended to become a traveler brand but it certainly is a big area that could/should be and is being exploited see here. 

I remember it being that cute brand from Portland that had the old lady testing coats.  They made great coats and outer wear but now Columbia has grown into a formidable affordable outdoor/travel giant.  I guess I can't say that I was completely shocked to see everyone wearing Columbia clothing as I brought my fair share of Columbia gear, I guess I was just shocked to see so many people wearing it in the airports and on the buses.  Everyone scattering around to participate in their various activities while wearing quality performance apparel.