Samsonite to focus on lifestyle products

After shoes, wallets and belts and of course its trademark

luggage, Samsonite is all set to launch eyewear in India. The aim is to have a complete lifestyle range. The company has three brands - Samsonite Black Label, Samsonite and American Tourister - in its portfolio. Samsonite has 250 stores across India, of which 180 are exclusive Samsonite stores and the rest are American Tourister stores. In the Samsonite brand, the company now derives 32 per cent of revenues from the non-luggage category such as shoes, wallets, belts, backpacks, toilet kits and locks.

Meanwhile, Samsonite India is re-jigging its footwear pricing strategy by having a separate sub-brand with price points below Rs 3,000 to make its brand of shoes more affordable for the Indian market. The new sub-brand of footwear will be for travel, comfort and style. These will be made more affordable, especially for the Indian market, and would be sold through Samsonite EBOs and MBOs. This year, Samsonite will invest over Rs 150 crores in India primarily on advertising and marketing, besides retail expansion. It expects revenues from India to touch Rs 1,000 crores by 2015, for which it will double the number of outlets to about 500 in the next five years. The brand aims to double its sales every two years in India. According to Subrata Dutta, MD, Samsonite India the company’s sales in India, estimated at Rs 750 crores in 2010 and it aims double it every two years. Today, India contributes 6.6 per cent of Samsonite’s global turnover of $1.2 billion.