Luggage as a category in India has been dominated by a single player for the past 40 years. However there are new players who have entered the market and have changed the design grammar and the selling formula for the products. Samsonite has been one of them.
The challenge
The challenge for Samsonite was to take the brand away from a low involvement category to a high involvement and high volumes category.
The strategy and implementation:
The moment of truth for marketers is the point of interaction of any product with the consumer. Samsonite realized that if marketers are able to influence this moment of truth, the engagement of consumers with the brand can be improved.
Sudip Ghose, Group Marketing Director, South Asia, Samsonite South Asia
If one looks at the rational moment of truth, it can be realized that purchase is driven by internal gratification, tangible results and performance superiority. This mostly happens in the category of FMCG products. The involvement in this case is low while the volume is high. Taking into account the emotional moment of truth, it can be realized that purchase is driven by brand loyalty and the aspirational quotient. In this case, the involvement is high but the volume is low. The luxury goods category exhibits this nature. There have been brands like Cadbury that have been successful in incorporating both the emotional and rational characteristics. The strategy for Samsonite was the same.
The brand created a category that was neither mass nor luxury but premium. It tried to come up with a proper mix of rational and emotional moments of truth. With the increase in mobility of people and reducing duration of tours, less people check in their luggage. The luggage thus became a personalized entity for consumers. Hence, Samsonite came up with products that would reflect the consumer’s personality.
Adding ‘tadka’ to the existing luggage category, the brand introduced the market to designer luggage and made it available in retail outlets. The brand also started paying greater attention to travel accessories which contributed to 10 per cent of the company’s turnover. It also launched shoes in a niche market in an attempt to move Samsonite from luggage to travel gear to travel wear. Through its advertising, Samsonite has focused on the emotional as well as the rational aspects of the products.
Results
Samsonite has been able to give stiff competition to the market leader of the category. The sub-brand of American Tourister grew at 80 per cent in 2010 and is presently growing at 70 per cent.
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