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Our Bureau

Bangalore , July 24

Samsonite India plans to expand its retail presence in the country by opening 64 stores by the end of this year.

These comprise 34 Travel World, 24 Travel Value stores and six exclusive boutiques for its recently launched luxury brand Black Label.

While Travel World retails the Samsonite Originals premium brand, Travel Value sells both Originals and the American Tourister brand (mid segment). The Rs 650-crore company currently has 132 stores in the country (86 Travel World and 46 Travel Value stores), apart from two Black Label boutiques in Mumbai.

Investment

Samsonite will invest Rs 45 crore on its India plans this year. About Rs 8 crore will be spent on outdoor and print advertising, said Mr Karthik Narayan, Head - Sales, All India, Samsonite.

According to Ms Preeti Padmanabhan, Business Manager, Black Label, the launch of this deluxe brand signifies the company's shift from "being just a luggage maker to being an aspirational lifestyle brand''.

Black Label designer luggage will be priced over Rs 20,000. The collection also includes ladies briefcase, fashion bags, gloves, belts, wallets and shoes. The new Black Label boutiques will come up in Bangalore, Delhi, Secunderabad, Kolkata and Chandigarh.

Samsonite, which claims a market share of 70 per cent in the premium category, has two manufacturing facilities in India - at Nashik and Umargaon, Gujarat.

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