Luggage Makers look for new growth paths

Bobbin, Dec, 1999 by Jules Abend

And while innovations as revolutionary as the wheeled suitcase don't come along every day, DeCicco opines: "I believe we have another 'wheels' in us someplace."

PROFILES OF THE PLAYERS

Turning to the market's major players, Bobbin asked five firms -- Samsonite, Atlantic Luggage, Hartmann, Boyt and Travelpro -- to share some details of their latest market strategies, and their views on key issues facing the industry. Responses from Samsonite and Atlantic are included in this article, while next month's issue will provide a forum for the latter three companies.

Samsonite: Business 'Shaping Up'

Denver, CO-based Samsonite has been busy repositioning its brands, and is confident its new alignment is a winner. The Samsonite name, now focused on the business traveler, is sold only through middle-market department and specialty stores, targeting the upper-moderate to upper channels of distribution. The firm's American Tourister brand goes after the leisure traveler, with differentiated products being sold under this label to all channels, including mass merchandisers. Finally, Samsonite's Lark brand is aimed at the executive traveler.

Like some other major players, Samsonite has been actively seeking opportunities to grow its brands via its own retail fronts. The company has 175 outlets and 12 regular price stores. Appealing to an estimated pool of 650 million airborne travelers, the firm also is selling on the Internet, as are some others. Samsonite sells on-line at regular retail prices, positioning its Web site more as a shopping than a selling tool.

A global manufacturer, Samsonite's products are made in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Japan, Belgium, France, Spain, Italy, Hungary, China and India. Its major U.S. production facility in Denver is one of the largest hard-sided luggage factories in the world. For production of soft-sided luggage, the company runs a cutting operation in Tucson, AZ, which feeds a Samsonite sewing facility in Nogales, Mexico.

Considered the industry leader in hard-sided sales, Samsonite's mix of hard-sided sales vs. soft-sided sales is approximately 15 percent/85 percent in the United States, 60 percent/40 percent in Europe and 90 percent/10 percent in Japan.

Mark Korros, president of Samsonite USA, told Bobbin that the company is gearing up for a resurgence of hard-sided products, with new styling and reductions in suitcase weight. In his view, the next innovation for these products will be in weight reduction. "Our new Lark Classic line weighs about 30 percent less than any other comparable product."

Not neglecting its important soft-sided business, however, Samsonite also has introduced a variety of smaller, 20-inch "Cabin Carry-On" bags to overcome the carry-on baggage size restrictions that have been promulgated by United and Delta airlines. (See "Carrying On About Carry-Ons," page 24.)

Looking at the bright side of the carry-on size issue, Korros asserts that the confusion has created selling opportunities for both soft and hard products. "[The issue] has given consumers a new reason to go back into luggage departments, when in fact they thought they didn't need any new luggage," he observes.