Samsonite To Make India Its Hub
Samsonite, a global leader in luggage and travel ware, is making India its major manufacturing centre for ABS-based products for markets worldwide. In the four years of its operations in India, the company has emerged as the largest exporter of luggage with a turnover of Rs 125 crore last year.
The Nasik plant is being upgraded and modernised at a cost of Rs 10 crore and will be the first design and development centre for Samsonite outside Belgium, where it is headquartered. This would facilitate better focus at the Belgium plant on the other category, that is, products of polypropylene material, he said.
Sharing the company's plans at a press meet here today, Samsonite director (Asia) Paul Melkebeke said the Indian development centre would design and develop new products and some of them would featured at the world luggage fair to be held in Europe this year.
Already with around 60 per cent of market share in the premium segment in India, the company has embarked on a novel retail strategy to emerge as a total travel solutions and consultancy company with exclusive retail outlets across the country.
Thus far over the last one year, 82 outlets have come up in various cities and major cities and 50 more are on the anvil this year, Melkebeke said. Exuding his praise for Indian skills in design, he said the Nasik plant had an indigenous content of over 90 per cent.
On the investment thus far, he said Rs 80 crore went into total operations and Rs 10 crore earmarked for new line of ABS products and outlets.
Ramesh Tainwala, the COO of Samsonite India Ltd, said the company has secured 16 per cent of the Rs 550 crore market. With a major share in the premium segment already, the introduction entire family range of products would push up volumes, he said. Add to this the focus on penetrating into new areas and markets, the company is hoping to cross 30 per cent market share in the next few years. New products would be 15 per cent lighter and 10 per cent less expensive to charge up consumer preferences for Samsonite in India, Tainwala said.