Samsonite to invest Rs 50 cr to double capacity in Nashik

Luggage-maker Samsonite on Thursday said it is doubling its manufacturing capacity at Nashik in Maharashtra at an investment of Rs 45-50 crore. The company-owned manufacturing facility has the capacity of 3 lakh pieces a month that would be increased to 6 lakh pieces a month by next year, Samsonite India chief executive Jai Krishnan told PTI here.

It would manufacture Samsonite and American Tourister branded products. "We are doubling the capacity at the Nashik unit.

India is in the top 3 when it comes to manufacturing units for the company. Belgium is the biggest. We will quickly start challenging Belgium. My feeling is that if all goes well, five years from today we want to be the biggest factory for Samsonite in the world," Krishnan said adding that India could also pitch in more for international business. The company had started the Nashik plant in 1997.

Samsonite India contributes to 6 per cent of the US- based company's global revenue and the company expects to grow at 17-18 per cent this year while maintaining that it is not going through a slowdown, he said. It has partnered with Japanese electronics major Panasonic to launch IoT enabled smart luggage.

Samsonite's new product EVOA Tech has the Panasonic's Seekit Bluetooth tracker that enables customers to tag and track their luggage and also features biometrics to unlock the bag integrated weighing scale. He added that the battery is compliant with the airport norms for smart luggage.

The next category for the technology would be business bags and backpacks. "I expect this to become a big seller... We are looking at Samsonite five years from today, half of the luggage we sell will be smart luggage because there is where the consumers are moving," he said, adding that "Right now the technology is only with the mother brand Samsonite." Samsonite has 180 exclusive stores in the country and it plans to add 20-25 stores with no plans of slowing down its retail expansion, he added.

It has a range of products called Women in Samsonite which contributes around 10 per cent to the sales which it believes could increase to 20-25 per cent in the next three years. Online is the fastest-growing channel for the company with its contribution to sales being estimated around 10-11 per cent this year, which it expects would increase to 20 per cent in the next three years..