he US-based luggage maker Samsonite is scouting for acquisitions in India.
Acquisition plan is part of a larger blueprint to make India the sourcing hub for its shoe line
KOLKATA: The US-based luggage maker Samsonite is scouting for acquisitions in India. While the company is targeting to buy a company with “meaningful value” operating in the luggage space, it is also open to acquiring a shoe company with strong manufacturing facilities to secure its sourcing position.
The acquisition of a shoe company is part of a larger blueprint to make India the sourcing hub for its shoe line, which the company intends to launch globally in 2009. At present, the footwear range is being test-marketed in select countries like Italy, India and Korea.
Ramesh Tainwala, president, Greater Asia and also on the management board of Samsonite Corp, told DNA Money, “We are not keen on hostile takeovers but are scouting around for companies in the luggage and shoes space in India.”
At present, Samsonite’s ‘Ultimate Travel Shoe’ brand is being outsourced from two vendors in India, one in Uttar Pradesh and the other in the south. These are not dedicated units but as volumes increase, Samsonite may look at converting them into dedicated vendors, said Tainwala.
As far as its luggage portfolio is concerned, Samsonite is shifting the focus of its Nashik plant from manufacturing to designing. This plant is now being turned into a development unit that will feed its global design team with centres in Boston, London, Brussels and Tokyo.
While 80% of its luggage products are imported, around 15% is being manufactured locally through five vendors in India.
Apart from the luxury Black Label range, which is fully imported, the company also offers the premium Samsonite brand and the value-for-money range American Tourister.
Samsonite, with net global retail sales of $2.5, feels that its “trading up” strategy has worked well in India. Luggage has indeed passed into the lifestyle realm and in 2-3 years, the company expects India to become its second largest market after the US, though the gap between the two may remain substantial.
The Samsonite South East Asia’s India sales figure is expected to grow from Rs 470 crore currently to Rs 650 crore in two years with the market expanding for all its three categories. “Our business in India grew by 65% in the last calendar,” said Tainwala.
Last year, Samsonite Corp was acquired by British private equity firm CVC Capital. The management of the Indian subsidiary, Samsonite South East Asia, rests with parent Samsonite Corp. India works as a regional hub for Middle East, Africa and SAARC countries.
m_madhumita@dnaindia.net
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}