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Founded by Jesse Shwayder on Mar 10, 1910, in Denver.1
The company was founded in Denver, Colorado, on March 10, 1910, by Black Hawk, Colorado-born luggage salesman Jesse Shwayder (1882–1970) as the Shwayder Trunk Manufacturing Company. A religious man, Shwayder named one of his initial cases Samson, after the Biblical strongman, and began using the trademark Samsonite in 1941 for its tapered vulcanized fiber suitcase, introduced in 1939. In 1965, after the Samsonite suitcase became its best-selling product, the company changed its name to SAMSONITE. For many years the subsidiary SAMSONITE Furniture Co. made folding chairs and card tables in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
The Shwayder family sold the company to Beatrice Foods in 1973. In 1974, the company released the brand's first wheeled suitcase.
Samsonite operated with relative independence within Beatrice until 1986, when Samsonite was sold to Kohlberg Kravis Roberts. Subsequently, in the 1980s, and into the 1990s, Samsonite went through multiple ownership changes. Forbes Magazine states that "the company spent most of the 1980s and 1990s in turmoil amidst multiple handoffs." First, Samsonite was spun off from KKR as part of E-II, which came under the control of Fortune Brands. E-II went through bankruptcy and was renamed Astrum International. In 1993, Astrum purchased American Tourister luggage, complementing Samsonite. In 1995, Astrum split, and an independent Samsonite (now including American Tourister) was once again headquartered in Denver. The Denver factory, which employed 4,000 people at its peak, closed in May 2001.
After a change of ownership in May 2005, Samsonite's headquarters moved from Denver to Mansfield, Massachusetts. Effective September 1, 2005, Samsonite then moved its U.S. marketing and sales offices from Warren, Rhode Island, to Mansfield, Massachusetts.
In 2005, the company was acquired by a consortium of Private Equity funds including Bain Capital, Ares Management and the Ontario Pension Fund in order to pull the company out of a long slump..
In July 2007, private equity firm CVC Capital Partners took over Samsonite for $1.7 billion. CVC Capital Partners Ltd. became Samsonite's fifth owner in 21 years.
On September 2, 2009, Samsonite Company Store LLC (U.S. retail division), formally known as Samsonite Company Stores Inc., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. It planned to close up to 50% of its stores and discontinue the "Black Label" brand in the United States.
In June 2011, Samsonite raised $1.25 billion in an initial public offering in Hong Kong.
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In August 2012, Samsonite paid $35 million in cash to buy the high-end luggage brand Hartmann, which was founded in 1877.
In June 2014, Samsonite agreed to buy technical outdoor backpack brand Gregory Mountain Products from Black Diamond, Inc., for $85 million in cash.
In March 2016, Samsonite agreed to buy luxury baggage maker Tumi Inc. for $1.8 billion in its largest ever acquisition.
In April 2017, Samsonite agreed to acquire eBags.com for $105 million in cash.
In 2023, Samsonite was rated the best overall luggage for travelers by Good Housekeeping Magazine.
In September 2023, Bloomberg reported that Samsonite was exploring the possibility of a second listing in the U.S. as the luggage maker looked to broaden its investor base.
In August 2026, Samsonite acquired an 85% stake in the luggage brand Béis, founded by Shay Mitchell in a $178.5 million deal.
From Wikipedia’s article on Samsonite, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4