July Raises $7 Million for Better Luggage: Travel Startup Funding This Week


Skift Take

Melbourne, Australia-based luggage maker July was one of several travel startups that announced collectively more than $21 million in funding this week.

Series: Startups This Week

Travel Startup Funding This Week

Each week we round up travel startups that have recently received or announced funding. Please email Travel Tech Reporter Justin Dawes at jd@skift.com if you have funding news.
This week, travel startups announced more than $21 million in funding. >>July, a direct-to-consumer luggage maker based in Melbourne, has raised $7.1 million ($10.5 million Australian) in funding. Strandbags, a Malta-based owner of travel goods stores, led the round with a $5.5 million ($8 million Australian) stake. July, which formally launched carry-on luggage for general sale in February, markets primarily to travelers in Australia, Singapore, and Shanghai. The company said it has made its cases curvier and added aluminum bumpers to bag edges to reduce impact when baggage handlers toss the bags. July also said its wheels are quieter and more resilient than average. For more context on the sector, see a video of Jen Rubio, co-founder of cult luggage company Away, discussing her business plan at Skift Global Forum 2019 in New York. >>Zen