Retail in Asia

In Sectors

Samsonite Asia sales up 18pc in 2014, driven by China market

Premium luggage maker Samsonite posted strong double-digit sales growth in all regions in 2014, led by Asia and North America.

The company said on Tuesday that net sales for the year ended on 31 December 2014 grew 17.3 percent to a record USD2.35 billion from the prior year. Adjusted net income jumped 9 percent to USD206.3 million. Excluding currency swings, adjusted net income advanced 12.3 percent. Adjusted EBITDA climbed 13.8 percent to USD384.3 million. It has been the fifth year the luggage maker posted double-digit growth in both net sales and Adjusted EBITDA.

Net sales in Asia surged 16.1 percent to USD892.3 million. Excluding foreign currency effects, net sales jumped 18 percent.

Along with additional product offerings and points of sale expansion, the success of the group’s business in Asia has been bolstered by a continued focus on country-specific product and marketing strategies to drive increased awareness of and demand for its products.

The sales growth in the region was largely driven by the American Tourister brand, net sales of which accounted for 43.2 percent of the increase in net sales for the region.

The Samsonite Red sub-brand in the group’s casual category continued to be popular, with net sales surging 91.9 percent on a constant currency basis to USD57.9 million in 2014 on the back of successful new product introductions and marketing programs. It was first launched in South Korea in 2010 and is aimed at young fashion-conscious consumers.

On the back of the success of American Tourister, Samsonite and Samsonite Red, China continued to lead in terms of sales and performance, contributing 25.5 percent of the region’s net sales and recording 18.4 percent year-on-year net sales growth, or 18.7 percent on a constant currency basis, despite a slowing economy which affected consumer spending.

Japan posted strong constant currency net sales gains of 32.3 percent, driven by the success of the Samsonite brand and the Gregory acquisition.

South Korea, with constant currency net sales up 12.8 percent year-on-year, continued to experience robust sales growth driven by American Tourister and Samsonite Red, while India and Hong Kong posted healthy constant currency net sales gains of 19.9 percent and 12.2 percent, respectively.