Samsonite plans three more plants in M'shtra

Two plants will be set up in Nashik and one in Pune

Samsonite, luggage manufacturing major, is planning to set up three new plants in western Maharashtra.

"The 99-year old company is now planning to focus on affordable products and is setting up two plants in Nashik and one in Pune. We already have production facility at Nashik and two more plants would be a mere addition. Our Pune plant will be basically an injection moulding unit. We are planning an investment of around Rs 20 crore for these three plants," said Suresh Menon, vice-president, sales and marketing, Samtain Sales Pvt Ltd.

Samsonite today opened an exclusive store in Pune in association with M Meetalal Oswal, a local retail partner.

"We are looking at expanding our current retail network of 132 stores to 160 with an investment of about Rs 15 lakh per store. We are also looking at opening 20 retail stores in Africa during this year," said Menon.

"We will also be presenting our new range of luxury luggage called 'Black Label' designed by world famous designer Marck Newson. We are planning to set up exclusive retail outlets for the distribution of Black Label brand by January end. We are planning to introduce new designer luxury range every couple of months. The company plans to open four Black Label boutiques by April. We are expecting around Rs four crore business from this new brand. This year we are expecting to close our financial books with a turnover of Rs 120 crore," he added.

"The capacity of our Nashik plant is fifty thousand pieces per month and we are going to increase it significantly. Samsonite has also finalised a licensing agreement with world famous brand 'Timberland' and is planning to introduce Timberland products in India by June," Menon informed.