Expect Samsonite India Sales To Touch 1,600 cr In 2018: Anushree Tainwala

Leading global travel gear and luggage maker Samsonite eyes 18-20%  sales growth to Rs 1,600 crore in India by the end of 2018.

Anushree Tainwala, Executive Director, Marketing, Samsonite South Asia revealed on the telephone, "For the year 2017, we did around Rs 1,250 crore in sales. Our goal is that we want to grow around 18-20% in 2018, and we should be touching around Rs 1,600 crore."

The Samsonite official said the company comprises around 38-40 per cent market share of the Indian market, adding that: "In the next two years we want to achieve 45% of market share here."

Tainwala said, "Currently, we manufacture around 80,000 pieces (per month) in that facility, our goal is that by June we enhance it upto around 1 lakh pieces and by the end of the year we want to touch 2 lakh pieces."

According to the executive director, foar the year 2018, the company's highest focus would be on the Kamilant brand (low cost suitcase), which was launched in late 2016.

She said, "In its first year itself we have crossed Rs 100 crore in sales and we want to double its (Kamilant) sales every year, for the next few years.”

Talking about investments in India, Tainwala said, " Kamilant is a small value segment brand competing at a similar price point as a Skybag, a VIP or a Safari. That honestly is the bulk of the Indian market... So, Kamilant is where we are going to put in a lot of our investments, as well as American Tourister."

She said, "For American Tourister specifically we got Virat Kohli on board last year as a brand ambassador. In 2018 we have also got Christiano Ronaldo on board.”

On the region-wise sales in India, Tainwala said, "The biggest region is south...with around 28 per cent of our sales coming from the south, 24% coming from north, 15% from west, around 11% from east and 14% fom e-commerce sale."

She said, “Although with the introduction of e-commerce, sales in the brick-and-mortar shops have not seen a dip, but "of course, the growth rate we see in e-commerce surpasses the growth rate we see in other channels today. So, a lot of market shares may be e-commerce is taking from other shares.”