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Samsonite International S.A. () is an American premium
luggage Baggage or luggage consists of bags, cases, and containers which hold a traveler's personal articles while the traveler is in transit. A modern traveler can be expected to have packages containing clothing, toiletries, small possessions, trip ...
manufacturer and retailer, with products ranging from large
suitcase A suitcase is a form of luggage. It is a rectangular container with a handle typically used to carry one's clothes and other belongings while traveling. The first suitcases appeared in the late 19th century due to the increased popularity of ma ...
s to small toiletries bags and
briefcase A briefcase is a narrow hard-sided box-shaped bag or case used mainly for carrying papers and equipped with a handle. Lawyers commonly use briefcases to carry briefs to present to a court, hence the name. Businesspeople and other white collar ...
s. The company was founded in
Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
,
Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...
,
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. Its
registered office A registered office is the official address of an incorporated company, association or any other legal entity. Generally it will form part of the public record and is required in most countries where the registered organization or legal entity ...
is in
Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
and it is listed on the
Hong Kong Stock Exchange The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (SEHK, also known as Hong Kong Stock Exchange) is a stock exchange based in Hong Kong. As of the end of 2020, it has 2,538 listed companies with a combined market capitalization of HK$47 trillion. It is repor ...
.


History

The company was founded in
Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
, on March 10, 1910 by
Black Hawk, Colorado Black Hawk is a home rule municipality located in Gilpin County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 127 at the 2020 United States Census, making Black Hawk the least populous city (rather than town) in Colorado. The tiny city is a ...
-born luggage salesman Jesse Shwayder (1882–1970) as the Shwayder Trunk Manufacturing Company. A religious man, Shwayder named one of his initial cases
Samson Samson (; , '' he, Šīmšōn, label= none'', "man of the sun") was the last of the judges of the ancient Israelites mentioned in the Book of Judges (chapters 13 to 16) and one of the last leaders who "judged" Israel before the institution o ...
, after the
Biblical The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
strongman, and began using the trademark ''Samsonite'' in 1941 for its tapered
vulcanized fiber Vulcanized fibre or red fibre is a laminated plastic composed of only cellulose. The material is a tough, resilient, hornlike material that is lighter than aluminium, tougher than leather, and stiffer than most thermoplastics. The newer wood-lamin ...
suitcase, introduced in 1939. In 1965 after the Samsonite suitcase became its best-selling product, the company changed its name to SAMSONITE. For many years the subsidiary SAMSONITE Furniture Co. made
folding chair A folding chair is a type of folding furniture, a light, portable chair that folds flat or to a smaller size, and can be stored in a stack, in a row, or on a cart. It can be combined with a folding table. Uses Folding chairs are generally used f ...
s and
card table A folding table is a type of folding furniture, a table with legs that fold up against the table top. This is intended to make storage more convenient and to make the table more portable. Many folding tables are made of lightweight materials to f ...
s in
Murfreesboro, Tennessee Murfreesboro is a city in and county seat of Rutherford County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 152,769 according to the 2020 census, up from 108,755 residents certified in 2010. Murfreesboro is located in the Nashville metropol ...
. The Shwayder family sold the company to
Beatrice Foods Beatrice Foods Company was a major American food processing company founded in 1894. In 1987, its international food operations were sold to Reginald Lewis, a corporate attorney, creating TLC Beatrice International, after which the majority of ...
in 1973. Samsonite operated with relative independence within Beatrice until 1986, when the company was sold to
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts KKR & Co. Inc., also known as Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., is an American global investment company that manages multiple alternative asset classes, including private equity, energy, infrastructure, real estate, credit, and, through its strate ...
. Subsequently, the company went through multiple changes of ownership in the 1980s and into the 1990s. First, Samsonite was spun off from KKR as part of E-II, which came under the control of American Brands. E-II went through bankruptcy and was renamed Astrum International. In 1993, Astrum purchased
American Tourister American Tourister is a brand of luggage owned by Samsonite. Brothers Sol and Irving Koffler founded American Luggage Works in Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. On ...
luggage, complementing Samsonite. In 1995, Astrum split, and an independent Samsonite (now including American Tourister) was once again headquartered in Denver. The Denver factory, which employed 4,000 at its peak, closed in May 2001. Samsonite headquarters moved from Denver to
Mansfield, Massachusetts Mansfield is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the United States 2020 Census, the town population is 23,860. Mansfield is in the south-southwest suburbs of Boston and is also close to Providence, Rhode Island. The vill ...
, after a change of ownership in May 2005. Samsonite moved its US marketing and sales offices from 91 Main Street in
Warren, Rhode Island Warren is a town in Bristol County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 11,147 at the 2020 census. History Warren was the site of the Pokanoket Indian settlement of Sowams located on a peninsula within the Pokanoket region. The reg ...
, to Mansfield, Massachusetts, effective September 1, 2005. In 2005 the company was acquired by Marcello Bottoli, former CEO of
Louis Vuitton Louis Vuitton Malletier, commonly known as Louis Vuitton (, ), is a French high-end luxury fashion house and company founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton. The label's LV monogram appears on most of its products, ranging from luxury bags and leather ...
, to pull them out of a long slump. Bottoli left the company in 2009. In July 2007 finance investor CVC Capital Partners took over Samsonite for $1.7 billion. CVC Capital Partners Ltd. became Samsonite's fifth owner in 21 years. On September 2, 2009, Samsonite Company Store LLC (U.S. Retail Division), formally known as Samsonite Company Stores Inc, filed
Chapter 11 bankruptcy Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, whe ...
. It planned to close up to 50% of its stores and discontinue the "Black Label" brand in the United States. In June 2011 Samsonite raised
US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
1.25 billion in an initial public offering in Hong Kong. In August 2012 Samsonite paid $35 million in cash to buy the high-end luggage brand Hartmann, which was founded in 1877. In June 2014, Samsonite agreed to buy technical outdoor backpack brand Gregory Mountain Products from Black Diamond, Inc., for US$85.0 million in cash. In March 2016 Samsonite agreed to buy luxury baggage maker
Tumi Tumi ( ''Quechua'' for 'Knife', ''variants'': 'Tome', 'Tume'), is a generic term encompassing the many kinds of sharp tools utilized in pre- and post-colonial eras of the Central Andes region, Tumis were employed for a diverse set of purposes s ...
for $1.8 billion in its largest ever acquisition. In April 2017 Samsonite agreed to acquire eBags for $105 million in cash. eBags generated $158.5 million in sales in 2016, up 23.5% from $128.3 million in 2015.


Senior leadership

Samsonite initially was led by a President, but the leadership role later became the Chief Executive.


List of Presidents

#
Jesse Shwayder Jesse Shwayder (March 26, 1882 - July 25, 1970) was an American businessman. He was the founder, president and chairman of the Samsonite Corporation, "the world's largest luggage manufacturer" by the time of his death. Early life Shwayder was bo ...
(1910–1961) # King David Shwayder (1962–1972) # Irving Shwayder (1972–1987)


List of CEOs

# Malcolm Candlish (1983–1988) # Steven J. Green (1988–1995) # Richard Nicolosi (1996–1998) # Luc Van Nevel (1998–2004) # Marcello Bottoli (2004–2009) #
Tim Parker Timothy Charles Parker (born 19 June 1955) is a British executive. As of 2020 he was the chairman of the National Trust, Post Office Ltd, and Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS). He was replaced in February 2022 as chairman of th ...
(2009–2014) # Ramesh Tainwala (2014–2018) # Kyle Gendreau (2018– )


Entry into the Toy Market

Beginning in 1961, Samsonite manufactured and distributed
Lego Lego ( , ; stylized as LEGO) is a line of plastic construction toys that are manufactured by The Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of variously colored interlocking ...
building toys for the
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
n market under
license A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...
from the Danish parent firm. A licensing dispute ended the arrangement in the U.S. in 1972, but Samsonite remained the distributor in Canada until 1986. Albert H. Reckler, then head of Military and export sales for the luggage division, brought the idea of manufacturing and selling Lego in the U.S. to Samsonite. He and Stan A. Clamage were instrumental in establishing the Lego brand in the United States. This was part of an overall company expansion into toy manufacturing in the 1960s that was abandoned in the 1970s.


Production

Forty percent of all Samsonite hard luggage is manufactured at its plant in
Nashik Nashik (, Marathi: aːʃik, also called as Nasik ) is a city in the northern region of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Situated on the banks of river Godavari, Nashik is the third largest city in Maharashtra, after Mumbai and Pune. Nashik ...
, India. Samsonite has two assembly plants in Hungary. Samsonite currently has a Better Business Organization rating of 'F', primarily because of Customer Service.


Brands

*
American Tourister American Tourister is a brand of luggage owned by Samsonite. Brothers Sol and Irving Koffler founded American Luggage Works in Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. On ...
* eBags * Gregory Mountain Product * Hartmann Luggage * High Sierra * Kamiliant * Lipault * Samsonite *
Tumi Inc. Tumi Holdings, Inc., is a manufacturer of high-end suitcases and bags for travel based in Edison, New Jersey. Founded in 1975 by Charlie Clifford after a stint in the Peace Corps in Peru, the company is named after a Peruvian tumi ceremonial kni ...


Competitors

* Delsey * Red Oxx Manufacturing *
VIP Industries VIP Industries is India's largest luggage manufacturing company which manufactures luggage and travel accessories. It is based in Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the of ...


References


External links

* {{Authority control Companies listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange Luggage brands Companies based in Bristol County, Massachusetts Mansfield, Massachusetts Manufacturing companies established in 1910 Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2009 1910 establishments in Colorado Luggage manufacturers 2011 initial public offerings