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Luggage major Samsonite India is repositioning itself as a luxury lifestyle brand. Samsonite, which has acquired Amercian brands High Sierra and Hartmann, said the two brands would be introduced in India by mid next year.
While Hartmann’s product portfolio comprises luxury luggage, High Sierra’s range extends to categories such as T-shirts, backpacks, flip flops, adventure luggage among others. The company is looking at opening 50 points of sale for High Sierra next year.
Subrata Dutta, Managing Director, Samsonite South Asia, said, “We started with travel luggage and diversified into variants such as shoes, bags, totes and accessories. The two brands will help us position ourselves as a lifestyle brand and not just a luggage-only brand.”
Samsonite has a global turnover of $1.6 billion, and the Indian and West Asian market contribute about 7.5 per cent to its global turnover. Its brands include Samsonite Black Label at the luxury end, Samsonite and affordable brand American Tourister.
FOOTWEAR RANGE
Dutta said the footwear range was priced at Rs 3,000. Recently, Samsonite had discontinued its licensing arrangements with Timberland and Lactose for bags. “We want to focus on our brand portfolio”. He said the footwear range contributed about 7 per cent to its turnover.