BUSINESS PROFILE OF

SAMSONITE
SUBMITTED: DR. NICOLETA ISAC
SAFAD HAJ ISSA AMINAH MONAWAAR AHMED
 THE BUSINESS PROFILE
 
Description of My Business 
 
SAMSONITE COMPANY

History of Samsonite Corporation:

Samsonite Corporation is the leading manufacturer of luggage in the world and the top seller of luggage in
United States, Europe, and Japan. In addition to its world- renowned Samsonite label, the company also
markets the popular American Tourister and Lark brands. Under those names, Samsonite offers full line of
luggage, including softside and hardside suitcases, garment bags, casual bags, business cases, and other
travel bags and accessories. Samsonite changed ownership several times during the 1980s and early
1990s before regaining its independence in 1995
The company was founded by Jesse Schwider in 1910 in Denver, Colorado, and began operating as a
trunk manufacturer. Over the past century, we have developed numerous innovations in luggage and
mass-marketed them, establishing key industry trends and adapting to evolving customer needs.
Samsonite Slogans: Innovation, Durability and History
Samsonite, meanwhile, hasn't shied away from using toughness as a lynchpin of its marketing through the
years. In fact, the heritage brand launched with print ads in 1910 that showed founders Jesse Shwayder
and his business-partner brothers standing on suitcases to show how sturdy they were. It was called the
Shwayder Brothers Trunk Company in those days, based in Denver, Colorado, but renamed Samsonite in
the '60s in a hat tip to the Biblical strongman Samson.

Company Perspectives:
Alongside lengthy experience, the quality and strength that characterize every aspect of the Samsonite
business have created a heritage of success. Remembering past triumphs but always looking ahead,
Samsonite maintains a global vision-a vision that will propel the company into the new millennium. The
future is a world of travel, of abundant mobility, and Samsonite is ready for this world-on-the-move.
Products of Samsonite company
Samsonite, just like their name sake Samson, is synonymous with strength, and durability, and yet they somehow
manage to maintain an air of elegance and luxury that most other luggage brands have not been able to match.

The prices of their products in the market

Vintage Retro 25 ″ Brown Samsonite Suitcase $ 170.00

Brass Leather Shwayder Bros Suitcase $ 130.00
1970’s Blue Samsonite Makeup Case $ 165.00

The National Anti-Exploitation Authority (NAA) imposed a fine of Rs 25.74 crore on Samsonite India,
claiming not to lower the prices of its products after the GST Board reduced tax rates from 28 per cent to
18 per cent in December 2017.

Growth Trends in This Business 

As the Eurozone crisis and austerity measures hit consumer confidence and constrain demand, growth for
leading luxury bag brands such as Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Prada slowed down in 2013 and 2014. In
addition, accessible luxury brands are headed towards a relatively conservative year in 2015. Looking
towards 2019, we make a few predictions to help determine growth strategies for the industry.

Then new markets come into focus.

China and the US are still expected to lead global sales in 2019. However, markets such as South Korea,
India and Taiwan will further their influence on global sales and serve as ideal candidates for market entry
expansion or. South Korea will overtake the entire Eastern European region and edge closer to Japan’s
number three position by 2019. India is likely to be among the top ten bags and luggage markets in 2019,
as it overtakes Italy and Germany on the way.

Top 10 Markets by Value Sales of 2019

https://blog.euromonitor.com/where-will-the-future-growth-for-bags-and-luggage-come-from/?amp

Females are still the primary target consumer as well as the driver of absolute sales for bags and luggage.
Traditionally, backpack and handbag manufacturers in particular have concentrated their marketing efforts
towards teens (aged 13-17) and young adults (aged 18-29). This is especially evident in the strategies of
fast-growing brands such as Michael Kors and Kate Spade.

Progression of Age Groups from 2014 to 2019

https://blog.euromonitor.com/where-will-the-future-growth-for-bags-and-luggage-come-from/‫؟‬amp

In 2018 US $ 580.8 million, or 15.3% of the Hong Kong-listed group’s sales were derived from e-
commerce. This represented an increase of 18.5% compared to the previous year

https://www.moodiedavittreport.com/double-digit-growth-at-tumi-helps-samsonite-hit-record-us3-8-billion-in-sales/

Samsonite holds the largest share of sales but other brands such as Tumi are growing in double digits

Commenting on overall performance, Parker said the 2018 results “marked the seventh consecutive annual
increase in turnover since our flotation in 2011” partially helped by “benign global trading conditions in the
first half of 2018” which drove regional momentum.

Regional gains, but with caveats

CEO Kyle Gendreau added: “All of our regions delivered solid net sales gains. After a strong start, we had
to contend with heightened geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainties that impacted our performance in
a number of markets during the second half of 2018. ” Over the year, North America was up 6.5%, Asia
10.2%, Europe 8.6% and Latin America 15.5%.

The Asian market (US $ 1,324 million) is now almost the same size as North America (US $ 1,483 million).
Its performance was helped by strong growth in Japan (16.2%), Hong Kong including Macau (16.6%), and
India (23.2%) but that was partially offset by slower growth in China (3.2% in H2 2018) due to weak toened
consumer sentiment and in South Korea where H2 2018 sales decreased by 1.5% due to “challenging
market conditions”.

“We also experienced a deceleration in Europe during the second half, particularly in France (down 1.2%)
owing to increased economic and political volatility. Overall, Europe recorded second half 2018 growth of
6.4%, compared to 11.4% during the first half of 2018, ”said Gendreau.
 https://www.moodiedavittreport.com/double-digit-growth-at-tumi-helps-samsonite-hit-record-us3-8-billion-in-sales/

Clear deceleration can be seen between the first and second halves of selected markets with some such
as South Korea and Chile turning negative.

THE MARKET SUMMARY 

Information about the market  
Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and
services produced in a specific time period. GDP is often used as a metric for international comparisons as
well as a broad measure of economic progress. It is often considered to be the "world's most powerful
statistical indicator of national development and progress" GDP can be determined in three ways, all of
which should, theoretically, give the same result. An increase in GDP therefore means that more goods
and services have been produced in one period than another. They are the production (or output or value
added) approach, the income approach, or the speculated expenditure approach.
GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT (GDP) GROWTH RATE IN THE US

https://www.statista.com/statistics/188165/annual-gdp-growth-of-the-united-states-since-1990/

In 2019 the real gross domestic product (GDP) of the United States increased by 2.3 percent compared
to 2018. Essentially, the annual GDP of the U.S. is the monetary value of all goods and services produced
within the country over a given year. The annual GDP of the U.S. is the monetary value of all goods and
services produced within the country over a given year.
Real gross domestic product, a measure of both production and income, grew by 2.3% in 2017, vs. 1.5%
in 2016 and 2.9% in 2015. Real GDP grew at a quarterly annualized rate of 2.2% in Q1 2018, 4.2% in Q2
2018, 3.4% in Q3 2018 and 2.2% in Q4 2018 under President Trump; the Q2 rate was the best growth rate
since Q3 2014, and the overall yearly GDP growth of 2.9% in 2018 was the best performance of the
economy in a decade.

GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT (GDP) PER CAPITA IN THE US

https://www.statista.com/statistics/248133/per-capita-us-real-gross-domestic-product-gdp/
This statistic shows the per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the United States from 1990 to 2019.
In 2019, per capita GDP amounted to 58,055 chained (2012) U.S. dollars. The US has the world's
fifth-highest per capita GDP (nominal) and the seventh-highest per capita GDP (PPP) in 2020.
Real GDP per capita (measured in 2009 dollars) was $52,444 in 2017 and has been growing each year
since 2010.  It grew 3.0% per year on average in the 1960s, 2.1% in the 1970s, 2.4% in the 1980s, 2.2% in
the 1990s, 0.7% in the 2000s, and 0.9% from 2010 to 2017 as seen in the statistic. The U.S. ranked 20th
out of 220 countries in GDP per capita in 2017.
SAMSONITE’S WORLDWIDE REVENUE

https://www.statista.com/statistics/252796/total-revenue-of-samsonite-
worldwide/
The timeline shows the total revenue of Samsonite worldwide from 2007 to 2019. In 2019, the total global
revenue of Samsonite amounted to about 3.64 billion U.S. Samsonite International SA is one of the world’s
largest travel goods companies, with a heritage dating back more than 100 years. It is involved with the
design, manufacturing and distribution of various travel goods products including luggage, backpacks and
travel accessories.
WORLDWIDE REVENUE
The chart shows the sales share of the luggage market worldwide in 2019, broken down by selected
market. In Latin America, Europe, north America, and Asia Pacific. the revenue in The Asia Pacific region
generated the largest revenue, which is  51.3 percent of Samsonite's global net sales in 2019.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1004685/luggage-sales-share-by-selected-market-worldwide/
Net Sales of Samsonite in Europe

https://www.statista.com/statistics/252921/european-net-sales-of-samsonite-by-country/
As the graph shows 2018 has been the year with the largest revenue from 2010 till 2019. Total European
net sales of Samsonite amounted to about 792.2 million U.S. dollars in 2019. In 2019, 19.9% of
Samsonite’s revenue came from Europe.
Net Sales in the Asia Pacific region

https://www.statista.com/statistics/253070/samsonite-distribution-of-net-sales-in-asia-by-country/

In 2019, as the statistic shows 23.3 percent of Samsonite's net sales in the Asia Pacific region were
generated from the Chinese market. In comparison, in the same year just over five percent of Samsonite's
net sales in the Asia Pacific region were generated in Australia. Asia Pacific generated the biggest revenue
in 2019, which is 51.3% of Samsonite’s revenue.
Latin American net sales of Samsonite
 https://www.statista.com/statistics/253125/latin-american-net-sales-of-samsonite-by-country/

The statistic shows the Latin American net sales of Samsonite from 2010 to 2019, by country. In 2019, the
net sales generated from Samsonite's Mexican market amounted to about 56.3 million U.S. dollars. Chile
has brought in the largest revenue throughout the years of 2010 and 2019. Latin America produced 16.6%
of Samsonite’s 2019 revenue.

Competitors profile

Tumi Holdings, Inc.:

Tumi was found in 1975 by Charlie Clifford Tumi Holdings, Inc., is a manufacturer of high-
end suitcases and bags for travel based in South Plainfield, New Jersey. the company is named after a
Peruvian tumi ceremonial knife used for sacrifices. Tumi, Inc. was a unit of Doughty Hanson & Co. from
2004 until after its 2012 initial public offering. Tumi's products are known for their black-on-black ballistic
nylon. Tumi holds 1.5 % in luggage market share.
Delsey:
The French company which manufactures luggage and travel accessories. It is based in Tremblay-en-
France, in the Paris suburbs.[1] Delsey employs 400 staff, and has a turnover of about 130 million euro.[2] it
was found by Émile Delahaye in 1911 but then in 1945  Émile Delahaye and the Seynhaeve brothers
joined forces, combining their names to create the Delsey brand. They have around 285 employees
worldwide. They are a private sector as well.
Rimowa:
Rimowa is a high-quality luggage manufacturer. The company was founded in 1898, in Cologne, Germany,
by Paul Morszeck. Rimowa suitcases are widely known for their parallel aluminum grooves, which have
become characteristic of the brand they have around 750 employees.
VIP Industries:
is an India's largest luggage Manufacturer company which manufactures luggage and travel accessories.
It is based in Mumbai, India and is the world's second largest and Asia's largest luggage maker.[7] The
company has more than 8,000 retail outlets across India and a network of retailers in 50 countries. It
acquired United Kingdom based luggage brand Carlton in 2004.

VF Corporation:
VF Corporation is an American worldwide apparel and footwear company founded in 1899 and
headquartered in Denver, Colorado.[2] The company's more than 30 brands are organized into three
categories: Outdoor, Active and Work.[3] The company controls 55% of the U.S. backpack market with
the JanSport, Eastpak, Timberland, and North Face brands. They have about 1,600 stores. They hold 1.3
percent in the global luggage market share.

Kering:
 After the company was quoted on Euronext Paris in 1988, it became the retail conglomerate Pinault-
Printemps-Redoute in 1994, and the luxury group Kering in 2013. It was originally found in 1963. And it
shares 1% of luggage market as of 2015. Kering has 32,685 employees worldwide and 300 Kering stores
as of 2015.

LVMH:  
The company was formed in 1987 through the merger of fashion house Louis Vuitton (founded in 1854)
with Moët Hennessy. which was established after the 1971 merger between the champagne producer Moët
& Chandon and the cognac producer Hennessy. LVMH controls around 60 subsidiaries that each manage
a small number of prestigious brands, 75 in total.  LVMH luggage is available in their 3,300 global stores. It
is under samsonite with the 5% in the luggage market share as seen in the graph below.
Samsonite’s competitors sales

9%

LVMH

VF Corparation

23% VIP Industries

Delsey

Kerring

61% Tumi

3% 0%
Rimowa
0%
1% Samsonite
1%

The graph above shows the sales of samsonite’s revenue compared to samsonite. Samsonite has the
biggest revenue, then VF corporation comes after. Delsey company has the least amount of sales between
these brands.
Samsonite’s competitors market share

https://seekingalpha.com/article/4087138-samsonite-luggage-leader
Currently, Samsonite is the largest company in the global luggage market, with a 19% market share
following their acquisition of Tumi. LVMH is the next largest player, with a 7% market share after acquiring
Rimowa. Samsonite has a far greater ability to grow share than someone like LVMH, as Samsonite is
broadly positioned across every single price point, geography, and product segment.
Other companies tend to be either regionally focused, product focused, or price point focused, with LVMH
obviously positioned solely in the luxury segment. Samsonite’s scale and scope allow them to reinvest in
both marketing and R&D to continually take share. Over the past 5 years, Samsonite has reinvested 6% of
sales p.a. ($130m p.a.) on marketing, and another (undisclosed) portion in R&D to continually refresh their
product lines for consumers.
 Sales revenue of competitors by region

https://seekingalpha.com/article/4087138-samsonite-luggage-leader

The overall luggage market is expected to grow at a 6.1% CAGR through 2021, with the largest contributor
to growth being Asia, which is expected to grow at a 7.2% CAGR over the same period. Samsonite stands
to grow alongside each region and product category. They are the only luggage company with >$100m of
luggage sales in North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia Pacific, India, and China. The only other
companies with >$100m in more than one region are VF Corp and Delsey (North America and Europe), VIP
Industries (Asia Pacific/India), and Crown (Asia Pacific/China).

 
 
BUSINESS PERSPECTIVES  
SWOT Analysis
STRENGTH
 Products quality
 Intelligent and practical design, that they are well known for
 Robust distribution channels and sourcing ability spread across th e globe
 Progress in direct-to-consumer net sales growth
 Variety of products
 WEAKNESS

 High cost
 Lagging addressing deforestation initiatives.
 Trimming down advertising expenses to maintain margins
 Decline in sales growth in china due to reduction B2B sales
 Less advertisement

OPPORTUNITIES

 Global marketing
 International penetration of brands like Tumi
 Demand for products using sustainable and innovative materials
 Capital investments in undertaking digital initiatives
 Growing demand

THREATS

 Irregular demand
 Disruptive impact of Covid-19 on travel industry to impact sales
 Political disputes like the China-US trade war acting like a trade barrier
 Significant regional competitors across global markets
 Presence of other strong brands

 
MARKETING STRATEGY 
Mission 
Company Perspectives
Alongside lengthy experience, the quality and strength that characterize every aspect of the Samsonite
business have created a heritage of success. Remembering past triumphs but always looking ahead,
Samsonite maintains a global vision-a vision that will propel the company into the new millennium. The
future is a world of travel, of abundant mobility, and Samsonite is ready for this world-on-the-move.

Marketing Program (Marketing Mix) 

Samsonite aims to continue following trends and interpreting travelers’ needs to infuse design innovation
and technology into travel. More fundamentally, Samsonite’s mission is to be the leading producer of smart
suitcases for business travelers all over the globe.
Samsonite wants to make travelers' lives easier and more efficient by providing a product that is not only
highly technological and functional but also sleek in design. In addition, Samsonite strives to design
products that use recycled and reclaimed materials that are better for the environment.
 Product Strategy Samsonite currently offers a wide line of high-quality travel gear including backpacks,
business suitcases, duffel bags, travel scales and locks. All live up to the company slogan, “Life is a
journey.” Over the next three years, Samsonite plans to expand and diversify its brands, product offering
and distribution channel, which will mostly focus on expanding its new product line, the Techno Case, to
include new and customized items. Customers will be able to select additional features such

Marketing mix analysis

1. The 4 Ps gives our company a competitive advantage:
• Product: Specialty, targeting specific group.
• Price: High price, high quality, unique, market skimming pricing strategy.
• Place: indirect distribution, selective distribution.
• Promotion: billboards, social media, TV commercials, airport magazines and ads.
2. Our competitive advantage will be sustainable in the market.
PRODUCT (BRANDING) DEVELOPMENT 
 
Product Strategy
Augmented product:
• Delivery and credit
• Product support
• Warranty
• After sale service Introduction phase: a lot of operating costs, low sales, and non - exsisting profits.
Major Market Developments

 Samsonite extended its retail presence in China to capture major market share in Asia-Pacific
region. The company has three strategies to attract Chinese customers: launching its own e-
commerce platform, revamping its physical stores to make them more attractive to female
customers, and continuously adding brick-and-mortar stores.
 KARA has launched premium men bag named The Briefcase and The Duffle Bag with prices
ranging from USD 425 to USD 750

PRICING  
 
Pricing strategy
• The smart traveler’s bag USB product
• Skimming pricing strategy
• Product line strategy

To target marketing and keep the brand fresh, the agency has produced an espionage themed ad in the
 shape of Parkour for Samsonite brand bags. The product "adapts to any function" and is "ready for
anywhere", according to digital placements on GameSpot and other sites between the ages of 18 and 34
that focus on males. An accompanying mini-movie distributed to College Humor and Maxim shows the bag
passing over the roof, flipping, twisting and jumping to elude some fictional villains without scratching or
denting.
The transition to digital and brand innovations in lightweight luggage seems to be paying off. In 2013,
Samsonite's net sales exceeded $ 2 billion for the first time in the brand's 104-year history, representing a
15% increase over 2012.
 
DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS 
 
  Samsonite is selling its products through several distribution channels:
• specialty luggage stores
• departmental stores and mass merchants
samsonite has 200 stores available in 100 countries
• company-owned retail outlets
• e-commerce
samsonite’s website had 581.54K visitors in 2019

PROMOTIONAL MIX 
 
Ad taglines have included the swingy 1969 slogan, "If you traveled the way your luggage does, would you
look as good as Samsonite?" A bag had to be nearly indestructible, the ad implied, to survive those clumsy
skycaps. So, these days, instead of using pop culture figures, sports stars or business leaders, Samsonite
focuses almost solely on its unique product features. That's been true for about the last decade, Goldman
said.
When she arrived at the company in 2005, there was a concerted effort to overhaul the marketing, making
the luggage and travel pieces, backpacks, tablet cases and laptop holders the stars of their own
campaigns. That strategy has given rise to TV commercials called “The Wheel "and" Bullfight, "showing
how easily Samsonite luggage swivels around on its spherical spinners, and balloon- and kite-filled ads for
Lift that emphasize the line's light-as-air appeal 
CONCLUSIONS 
The conclusion from all this is that this company, for years it has been seeking to develop, improve, and raise its
name in the market while it is also thanks to innovation and excellence in its products and its wonderful idea in
promoting its goods and good marketing of those goods. Especially that their last goods are sophisticated and
extremely high-quality, even if their prices are somewhat high, samsonite is still one of leading companies in luggage
around the world.

REFERENCES
 https://www.swotandpestle.com/samsonite-international/
https://www.slideshare.net/MitaliSinha2/samsonite-india
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VIP_Industries
https://www.statista.com/statistics/248133/per-capita-us-real-gross-domestic-product-gdp/
https://www.statista.com/statistics/252796/total-revenue-of-samsonite-worldwide/#:~:text=In%202019%2C%20the
%20total%20global,about%203.64%20billion%20U.S.%20dollars.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/188165/annual-gdp-growth-of-the-united-states-since-1990/
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1004685/luggage-sales-share-by-selected-market-worldwide/
https://www.statista.com/statistics/252921/european-net-sales-of-samsonite-by-country/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VIP_Industries