Samsonite rolls out Black Label

Luggage maker launches luxury brand

Samsonite, a luggage manufacturing brand, today rolled out its luxury brand "Black Label" in Chandigarh. The company has opened a state-of-the-art outlet in Chandigarh for its new line of design, the first in India.

Samsonite South Asia Private Ltd Vice-President E P Suresh Menon said the company would open seven retail outlets having Black label corners in the current financial year and the second such shop would be opened in Mumbai by the end of this month.

The firm was introducing four lines of designs and after every six months it proposed to add new designs, he added.

Menon said luggage manufacturers' sales had dropped after the World Trade Center tragedy of 2001. But in the past three years sales have again picked up. According to him, the market for this product is growing at 8 per cent whereas the Samsonite brand registered a growth rate of 37 per cent last year.

The company has three manufacturing facilities--in India, China and Belgium. The facility in China is small compared and the one in India is the largest. "We target an export turnover of Rs 180 crore this year," said Menon. The company had a turnover of Rs 156 crore in 2005-06 and is expecting Rs 250 crore this year.

The company is largely exporting hard moulded luggage across the world from India. He added that about 85 per cent of the hard moulded luggage from Indian factory located at Nasik are sold in overseas market.

He agreed that the new product range launched today is meant only for the niche market that would range between Rs 15,000- Rs 35,000. The growing income levels and disposable income and frequent foreign travels for corporate clients assure of promising returns, said Menon.

Indian buyers were global buyers and we sell the same stuff here as we do in Europe, he pointed out.

He told that they were selling through their franchise outlets in other towns of Punjab like Jallndahr and Amritsar.