Samsonite India sales rise 38%

livemint.com:

NEW DELHI : Luggage maker Samsonite reported nearly a 38% jump in sales in India in the first half of 2023, a strong indicator of the travel boom translating to sustained demand for hard luggage and travel bags. During the first half of 2023, Samsonite International SA, which covers the Southeast Asian markets for the luggage maker, said net sales in India jumped 38% (constant currency) in India. Net sales in China grew 99% in the same period, the company said in its earnings release for the six months ended 30 June, filed on Wednesday in Hong Kong.

The numbers come on a high base of the previous year when net sales in India increased 109.1% year-on-year, albeit on a lower base and supported by a huge pent-up demand in business. India accounted for 18.2 % of net sales for Samsonite International as of 30 June. Jai Krishnan, CEO of Samsonite India, expects demand for luggage to sustain and settle at well above pre-pandemic levels as more Indians indulge in leisure travel.

While demand started picking up last year, it has now settled at a new normal level, “which is much higher than earlier", he said. “Last three to four years were very different for our industry. In 2020 early part, nobody travelled anywhere.

Slowly, it started coming back in October-December 2020, followed by the second wave. As we got out of the second wave, I think people started realizing how much they love travelling. We knew there would be a surge.

Which is why we had the courage to invest," Jai Krishnan said. Anticipating post pandemic demand, Samsonite stepped up investments at its plant in Nashik earlier to augment capacity. The Nashik plant has already seen two rounds of capacity expansion since the onset of the pandemic—one in 2020, followed by