Samsonite plans second facility in Haldia

Samsonite India (P) Ltd is planning to locate its second manufacturing base on the east coast, preferably at Haldia in West Bengal, Ramesh Tainwala, chief operating officer, said in Kolkata on Friday.

The new plant, second for Samsonite in India after Nasik, would have initial capacity of 1.5 million pieces. However, this would be scaled up in the future, Tainwala said.

"We source 80 per cent of our basic raw material from Haldia Petrochemical Ltd (HPL) which manufactures best quality polypropylene (PP). So we are planning to locate the plant close to HPL to take the freight advantage," he said.

Moreover, the new unit would export most of its production to Japan and other countries. Haldia being a port town would suit Samsonite's purpose perfectly.

"Also, we are using Singapore as transshipment point for exporting to the west coast of US," he added. Tainwala was in Kolkata to inaugurate Samsonite brand store in the city.

Moreover, the logjam at the Mumbai port has led the company to look for other ports for export. Samsonite export 85 per cent of production from Nasik.

The company has approached HPL for locating a suitable land for the new plant which would cost about Rs 100 crore. If Samsonite sets up unit here, it would be one of the largest downstream unit of HPL.

The company requires about 5,000 tonne of PP annually. Samsonite, which is the wholly owned subsidiary of $ 1.6 billion Samsonite worldwide, has market share of 65 per cent in the premium segment in India.

The company enjoys 38 per cent market share in Europe, 36 per cent in America, and 20 per cent in the rest of the world.

The luggage market in India is about Rs 1,000 crore and growing at the rate of 7-8 per cent. The premium segment, contributing 25 per cent of the overall market, is growing by 30 per cent.