Dubai: Luggage manufacturer Samsonite is celebrating 100 years of worldwide operations. Gulf News took the chance to talk to Prashant Vatkar, Vice-President, Middle East of Samsonite, about the company's focus in the region, the impact of the financial crisis on the industry and business perspectives for the times to come.
GULF NEWS: After 100 years of operations, how is Samsonite positioning itself today in a very competitive environment in the luggage industry?
PRASHANT VATKAR: Samsonite has kept a global leadership in its category for most of the 100 years of its existence. In addition, more than 50 per cent of all innovations in the luggage industry have been introduced by Samsonite, for example the use of materials like polypropylene or PVC or the use of wheels on bags. Recently, we introduced a new product in the UAE called Cosmolite, which is made from a material that makes it the strongest, yet the lightest bag ever produced.
Has the downturn in the travel industry in the wake of the financial crisis affected luggage sales?
There has been pressure on the luggage industry on account of the financial crisis. In such times formidable brands like Samsonite has the wherewithal to sustain the business due to its size and scale. At the same time the smaller players typically start working on the mindset of "minimising losses" and hence start dropping rates to get rid of inventories. While this does put a lot of pressure on a brand like Samsonite, yet with its iconic image and trust built over 100 years, the brand is able to maintain growth in such difficult times. In sum Samsonite has been successfully able to increase the market share every time the situation turns difficult.
Could you give a quick overview on Samsonite's activities in the Gulf region, the structure of the company, the number of outlets as well as its presence in GCC countries?
In the Middle East region we have our business partners like Grand Stores in the UAE, Al Qureshi's in Saudi Arabia, Khimji Ramdas in Oman, Blue Salon in Qatar and Al Hawaj in Bahrain. Our partners are fully aligned to the brand strategy of Samsonite of operating exclusive brand stores in the best locations. This approach has been backed up with brand enhancing activities like advertising and sponsorship on Arabic channels like MBC 1, MBC2, MBC4, Sama TV, Dubai TV and so on, in mall activation and meaningful promotions for retail customers.
The other very critical aspect of our brand-building strategy particularly in the Middle East region over the past couple of years has been getting our mono-brand retail store footprint at the right locations to match the brand esteem. Over the past 12 months we have added 10 mono-brand stores for Samsonite across the region at absolutely prime locations in spite of the economic scenario. By July this year Samsonite will have 50 exclusive brand stores in the region.
Can you provide details on sales figures and revenue in the region?
As a result of the activities mentioned above we have been able to maintain the preference of our customers towards Samsonite and grow the business. In 2010 we grew so far a whopping 50 per cent compared to last year.
Are there any expansion plans within the region?
Yes, the aggressive expansion will continue. We will be shortly opening seven to nine new Samsonite stores in the region, we are opening two stores in the UAE, one at Delma Mall in Abu Dhabi and one at Ibn Battuta Mall in Dubai, one store in Muscat City Centre, one store in Jeddah and one in Egypt.
Samsonite is producing a large portion of its luggage in India. What is the specific reason for this?
Samsonite has one of its manufacturing plants in India. This manufacturing unit produces the hard segment of the Samsonite range. India provides a very good location for Samsonite to produce these bags as the local market in India is growing very rapidly and it is centrally located in the fastest growing region for Samsonite which is Asia and the Middle East.
Small beginnings
Samsonite was founded in 1910 in Denver, Colorado, by luggage salesman Jesse Shwayder with a capital of $3,500. It began manufacturing products from large suitcases to bags and briefcases. The name derives from the biblical figure Samson. Later on, Samsonite also started producing furniture and Lego toys for the US market. After an expansion drive in the 1960s, the Shwayder family sold the company to multi-brand group Beatrice Foods in 1973. In the coming years, a spin-off and some restructuring followed, and eventually in 2007, financial investor CVC Capital Partners took over Samsonite.
