Samsonite International S.A. (SEHK: 1910) is an American[4]luggage manufacturer and retailer, with products ranging from large suitcases to small toiletries bags and briefcases. The company was founded in 1910 in Denver, Colorado, United States.
The company was founded in Denver, Colorado, on March 10, 1910 by Black Hawk, Colorado-born luggage salesman Jesse Shwayder (1882–1970) as the Shwayder Trunk Manufacturing Company.[6][7][8][9] A religious man, Shwayder named one of his initial cases Samson, after the Biblical strongman, and began using the trademark Samsonite in 1941 for its tapered vulcanized fiber suitcase, introduced in 1939.[10] 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 chairs and card tablesinMurfreesboro, Tennessee.
The Shwayder family sold the company to Beatrice Foods in 1973. In 1974, the company released the brand's first wheeled suitcase.[7]
Samsonite operated with relative independence within Beatrice until 1986, when Samsonite was sold to Kohlberg Kravis Roberts. Subsequently, in the 1980s and into the 1990s, Samsonite went through multiple ownership changes. Forbes Magazine states that "the company spent most of the 1980s and 1990s in turmoil amidst multiple handoffs."[11] First, Samsonite was spun off from KKR as part of E-II, which came under the control of Fortune Brands.[10] E-II went through bankruptcy and was renamed Astrum International. In 1993, Astrum purchased American Tourister luggage, complementing Samsonite.[12] In 1995, Astrum split, and an independent Samsonite (now including American Tourister) was once again headquartered in Denver.[10] The Denver factory, which employed 4,000 people at its peak, closed in May 2001.
After a change of ownership in May 2005, Samsonite's headquarters moved from Denver to Mansfield, Massachusetts. Effective September 1, 2005, Samsonite then moved its U.S. marketing and sales offices from Warren, Rhode Island to Mansfield, Massachusetts.
In 2005, the company was acquired by Marcello Bottoli, former CEO of Louis Vuitton, to pull them out of a long slump.[11] Bottoli left the company in 2009.[13]
In July 2007, private equity firm CVC Capital Partners took over Samsonite for $1.7 billion.[14] CVC Capital Partners Ltd. became Samsonite's fifth owner in 21 years.[15][16]
On September 2, 2009, Samsonite Company Store LLC (U.S. retail division), formally known as Samsonite Company Stores Inc., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.[17] It planned to close up to 50% of its stores and discontinue the "Black Label" brand in the United States.[18][19]
In September 2023, Bloomberg reported that Samsonite was exploring the possibility of a second listing in the U.S. as the luggage maker looked to broaden its investor base.[26]
Beginning in 1961, Samsonite manufactured and distributed Lego building toys for the North American market under license from the Lego Group. 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[27] in the 1960s that was abandoned in the 1970s.
In 2022, Samsonite announced plans to move production to Japan.[9]
In April 2023, Samsonite announced plans to expand their manufacturing in Nashik as the demand for travel has increased.[30] Samsonite India plans to invest ₹110-115 crore to enhance its hard luggage manufacturing capacity from 5 lakh pieces a month to 7.5 lakh pieces by the end of the following year. The expansion will include 180,000 square feet of land for the plant to expand on.[30]
