Asia PR News

LONDON, NEW YORK and HONG KONG, Nov. 30 /PRNewswire - AsiaNet/ –

Samsonite Group announces the appointment of Shawn Cox to the newly created
position of Chief Retail Officer as of January 15th, 2007. He will be based at
Samsonite’s London Executive Offices and will join the Management Board,
reporting to President and CEO, Marcello Bottoli. In his role, Mr. Cox will be
responsible for Samsonite’s newly created Retail Division, regrouping all
directly and indirectly operated retail activities around the world.

Mr. Cox joins from Tommy Hilfiger Europe where he was Vice President of
Retail and Vice President, Export and Eastern Europe. Previously, Mr. Cox was
Managing Director of Jasper Conran Holdings, which he joined from Mulberry
where he was Director of Group Merchandising and Retail Store Development.
From 1989 to 1994 he held a number of roles at Polo Ralph Lauren, culminating
in the role of European Brand Manager (Sales and Marketing).

Samsonite Group products are sold in over 100 countries at a wide variety
of retail establishments which include premium department stores such as
Selfridges, Bloomingdales, Neiman Marcus, Isetan, Saks 5th Avenue, Harrods,
Lane Crawford and Holt Renfrew. Samsonite also operates in excess of 285
directly-operated retail stores in North America, Europe, Asia and Latin
America, over 170 exclusive retail stores and more than 185 shop-inshops.

With the appointment of President and CEO Marcello Bottoli (who held the
same position at Louis Vuitton) and subsequent appointment of Quentin Mackay
as Creative Director (from Tanner Krolle), the company is on an exciting
journey of elevating the design and image of the brand. This has focused on a
number of areas including celebrity driven communication campaigns, new
products that combine the best of Samsonite’s heritage and historical values
of functionality and durability, whilst being increasingly style and design
led. New collections include the contemporary retro Vintage collection, the
award winning X Lite (the lightest, strongest Samsonite ever) and the recently
launched Samsonite Black Label by Alexander McQueen.

To support this strategy Samsonite recently announced a series of flagship
stand-alone stores and branded shop-in-shops in luxury department stores in
key markets across the globe to be opened in 2006 and throughout 2007. The new
stores will reinforce Samsonite’s global position as a leading, worldwide
luxury travel and accessories brand. The stores operate under the Samsonite
Black Label name, synonymous with superior, innovative and contemporary travel
items and accessories. Thirty Samsonite Black Label retail locations have now
been opened in some of the world’s most influential fashion capitals including
London’s Sloane Street and Bond Street, Tokyo’s Ginza, New York’s Madison
Avenue, Seoul’s Cheongdam-dong, Moscow’s GUM and Shanghai’s Times Square.

Mr. Bottoli commented, "We are delighted to reinforce our team with this
appointment. Shawn has an outstanding track record building retail operations
for some great brands and a deep level of understanding and appreciation of
global brands and retail markets. I believe Shawn’s experience and skills,
will significantly accelerate our development"

"Samsonite is an outstanding brand with very strong opportunities," said
Mr. Cox. "Their products are exceptional in design, quality, and detail. It
will be my objective to ensure that the company’s retail strategy, execution
and performance are equally outstanding. I look forward to working with the
first class and talented team at Samsonite to help build one of the world’s
premier luxury brands".

NOTES TO EDITORS

About Samsonite
Samsonite is the worldwide leader in travel solutions, combining notable
style with the latest design technology and the utmost attention to quality
and durability. Utilizing top designer expertise from around the globe,
Samsonite creates unparalleled products that fulfil the travel and lifestyle
needs of the sophisticated traveller. For 96 years, Samsonite has continued to
build upon this rich design heritage. Samsonite markets products under the
Samsonite, Samsonite Black Label, American Tourister, Lambertson Truex,
Lacoste and Timberland brands. Samsonite. Life’s a journey.

SOURCE Samsonite

/CONTACT: Richard Brett of Global Director of Communication,
+44-20-8564-4243, +44-7824-305882; or Dick Millard of Gavin Anderson,
+44-20-7554-1462, +44-7831-855-167 /