India to be Samsonite’s biggest manufacturing base globally

Company to invest additional ₹100 crore to add capacity at Nashik unit

Global luggage manufacturer and retailer Samsonite is planning to have its largest manufacturing unit in India by further expanding the capacity of its factory in Nashik, Maharashtra. Two other units of the company are in Belgium and Hungary in Europe.

The broader objective is that India meets Samsonite’s global requirement of luggage as it works on its ‘China Plus One’ strategy to deal with supply chain disruptions, said Jai Krishnan, CEO, India at Samsonite South Asia Pvt. Ltd.

“The unit at Nashik will be Samsonite’s biggest manufacturing base in this year itself. In the last two years, we had invested ₹150 crore to double production capacity to cater to local demand. Now, we are planning to invest another ₹100 crore to further expand capacity at the same location,” said Mr. Krishnan.

“The Indian unit will meet the long-term requirement of Samsonite globally,” he said.

The next round of expansion involving the installation of 10 machines and eight more assembly lines would be ready for production in January 2024, Mr. Krishnan said.

He said the demand for the company’s products were growing in India due to the pent-up demand and for travel related to weddings and for leisure. The growth in the first six months of 2022 was 109% as compared with the first half of the previous year.

“In 2022, we are expected to grow by 35% as compared to our best year ever. 2023 will be the better than this year and this trend will continue for one and half years. Indian market has rebounded faster than expected,” he added.