What is Samsonite’s strategy for customer retention?

For a premium luggage brand, repeating purchases can be a task. Samsonite’s head of marketing communications sheds light on the brand's expansion strategy.

Samsonite, a premium luggage brand, has positioned its offerings as robust, durable bags since its inception. But, after purchasing said products, it is conceivable that the consumer might not ‘need’ to buy another luggage bag for the foreseeable future. How do you then retain a customer, or repeat a purchase?

The brand has been in the global markets for a century and more. And over time, the offerings from the brand have diversified into multiple categories. In American Tourister, another luggage and bags brand owned by Samsonite, the company offers affordable bags for consumers of various backdrops. Consequently, the brand has varying propositions and communication for both.

Pradnya Popade, who is the head of marketing communication for Samsonite, tells afaqs! that the brand is ‘okay with customers not repeating their purchase’ as long as the customer is satisfied with the product.

Repeating purchases, or not

Samsonite’s entire ethos is built around durable brands with warrant years ranging between ten years and a lifetime. Popade points out that a customer choosing to not buy another bag is absolutely fine with the brand, since the brand itself encourages consumers to buy products sparingly. “We are fine with that. In fact, we encourage the consumer to buy bags which are long-lasting. That is our philosophy because we do not want to add any more carbon to the environment.”

To this effect, Samsonite offers multiple service centres across 120 countries where consumers can repair their damaged bags instead of buying new ones. The brand has also ventured into sustainable luggage, with plans to recycle and reuse discarded old luggage by customers. 

So, the strategy is to tap into new consumers instead of focusing on repeating purchases. At the moment, the expansion strategy for the brand is targeting wedding travelers and students - key consumer categories that the brand aims to woo going forward. 

“Wedding travelers are about packing more and prolonged travel. With student travelers, we’ve realised through research these are the consumers who wish to study abroad but are wary of spending too much on luggage.”

Communication mix between the segments

The brand has maintained a very nuanced communication for both Samsonite and American Tourister, with the former being driven by durability, a certain level of elegance, and a bit of glamour. The latter is built around travel, adventure, and some elements of adventures, as is evident by the kind of campaigning seen for both brands.

This also reflects in the way Samsonite approaches its markets for impact and awareness. 

Samsonite’s premium offerings are backed by a specified marketing strategy. For the luxury brand, the entire aura is predicated on its appeal to the affluent traveler, so the media mix is very calculated as well. 

“For Samsonite, we used to be on TV on specific channels. But today, that is not our first priority. While it will still rule for American Tourister, because it caters to a mass audience, for Samsonite it has now become connected TV.”

Similarly, outdoor for American Tourister is focused on tier-2 and tier-3 markets. For Samsonite, however, the OOH ads are placed in key markets in tier-1 cities. The variations are extended even to movie placements, print ads, activation and associations. 

“In cinema placements, we take mass movies for American Tourister, while we reserve Samsonite to some select English movies. The print ads for Samsonite are also placed specifically on ET and The Times of India.”

Sales and distribution

The Indian consumer base for the luggage market is primarily driven by three major categories. The value seekers, who want the bang for their bucks; the mass segment; and the premium buyers who are frequent travelers and can afford luxuries. For Samsonite, the majority of their business comes from the mass segment, with American Tourister bringing in most of the business, as per Popade. 

“India has a huge mass audience, with an enormous young population. For younger consumers, American Tourister is the go-to brand, so it holds the largest part of our business. There is a clear demarcation of these segments, and we’ve taken sufficient steps to keep these brands in different brackets in terms of the pricing.”

From a sales distribution point of view, the luggage category is still predominantly offline. This is potentially because consumers often wish to check the products in person, before making the purchase. 

“For luggage as a category, offline is still strong. People like to check the products inside out and then make the purchase journey. For the value seekers and mass segment, e-commerce is picking up. But for the premium and luxury product, more than 90 percent sales are generated offline.”