Has the downturn in the travel industry in the wake of the financial crisis affected luggage sales?
There has been pressure on the luggage industry on account of the financial crisis. In such times formidable brands like Samsonite has the wherewithal to sustain the business due to its size and scale. At the same time the smaller players typically start working on the mindset of “minimising losses” and hence start dropping rates to get rid of inventories. While this does put a lot of pressure on a brand like Samsonite, yet with its iconic image and trust built over 100 years, the brand is able to maintain growth in such difficult times. In sum Samsonite has been successfully able to increase the market share every time the situation turns difficult. Could you give a quick overview on Samsonite’s activities in the Gulf region, the structure of the company, the number of outlets as well as its presence in GCC countries? In the Middle East region we have our business partners like Grand Stores in the UAE, Al Qureshi’s in Saudi Arabia, Khimji Ramdas in Oman, Blue Salon in Qatar and Al Haw
