Today we’d like to introduce you to Steve Rooten.
Hi Steve, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
We are 3rd generation family-owned business. We were the original tenant in South Coast Plaza in the 1970’s, then opened up other locations in Mission Viejo Mall and here at our current address in Skypark Business Complex – Irvine.
We have evolved from carrying luggage travel goods including leather attaches, wallets, desk sets, pens, etc. to our current product mix of “outdoor lifestyle” goods. We still specialize in all things travel: luggage, accessories, clothing, and now bikes, Ebikes, SUP’s and much more! 😉
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Bumpy road to say the least, with most of our friends in the industry closing their business.
Through tough times like 9/11, 2008 financial crisis and now Covid-19, we’ve made a nice pivot and keep plugging away until we get safari’s, cruising, Europe and all things travel back in full swing… 2022-2023 should be good years.
We’ve been impressed with Rooten’s Travel & Adventure, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We are celebrating our 50th year here in Orange County as the trusted source for Travel Goods. We still have a hands on approach through the massive change in commerce. Even though Amazon and internet shopping has taken over the world, we still provide help to our customers via our packing seminars and customer service answering all ?’s for people planning trips domestic and abroad. We monogram initials on our luggage tags, deliver, gift wrap.
These things are all made possible by our strong vendor relationships with the leaders in travel and outdoor lifestyle such as Briggs & Riley, Retrospec, Bric’s, Eagle Creek to name a few.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
The trend will still be online shopping but we are determined to give a true “shopping experience” here and create excitement around our events…
Contact Info:
- Email:Â [email protected]
- Website:Â https://www.rootensluggage.com/
- Instagram:Â @RootensTravelAndAdventure
- Facebook:Â @RootensTravelAndAdventure
