Samsonite's budget-friendly Kamiliant range makes IPL debut with first campaign

Samsonite's value-segment luggage brand Kamiliant is executing its first full-scale brand communication strategy, deploying a 360-degree marketing campaign featuring Bollywood celebrities Tiger Shroff and Tamannaah Bhatia. The campaign, conceptualised and created by Lowe Lintas, marks a pivotal inflection point for a brand that has operated in the Indian market since 2015-16.

Positioned as a tactical brand extension within Samsonite's diversified portfolio that includes Samsonite’s own premium luggage range and the American Tourister brand, Kamiliant is aimed at India's emergent middle-class travellers.

The brand which had been operating internationally prior to stepping into the Indian terrain, focused more on market white spaces—specifically, the segment of first-time travellers seeking affordable, stylish, and reliable luggage solutions.

For Kamiliant's first campaign in the Indian market, Samsonite collaborated with Centre of Gravity, a boutique consulting firm, to conduct an exhaustive market diagnostics exercise.

The research unveiled a critical market insight: Kamiliant, while raking in sales, suffered from brand anonymity where people didn’t connect the budget friendly luggage range to its larger and more premium parent Samsonite. And that inevitably became the underlying objective of its latest campaign with the tagline ‘Naam Hai Kamiliant, Kaam Hai Toughness’.

Speaking exclusively to afaqs!, Anushree Tainwala, executive director of marketing at Samsonite South Asia, underscores the need for Kamiliant’s own identity. She says, "Many consumers have been utilising the brand, often for years, without recognising its identity, and frequently conflating it with American Tourister.”

 As per Tainwala, the traditional paradigm of necessity-driven travel—characterised by familial visits and social obligations—is also rapidly metamorphosing. Consumers are increasingly embarking on journeys for professional development, educational pursuits, and experiential leisure, creating a nascent but exponentially growing market segment.

This consumer cohort, which has largely been using unbranded kind of luggage before, are now buying branded luggage, and that's where Kamiliant comes into the picture. In this value-conscious market segment, we’re the only international brand offering our products.

-Anushree Tainwala, Samsonite

The IPL debut

The campaign's timeline coincides with the Indian Premier League (IPL), and the brand is poised to splurge on advertising during the premier cricketing tournament.

"We've gone live with the IPL. Our main objective here is really getting awareness and maximum reach and IPL is a perfect property for that. Also, the IPL coincides with the travel season (March, April, and May) and that is when the buying is at its peak,” Tainwala reveals.

Kamiliant’s media mix will include a big out of home campaign, a digital leg, and a social leg. For the IPL, the brand is opting to advertise on connected TV.

Brand ambassador selection

Samsonite’s celebrity endorsement strategy depends on the kind of brand it is marketing. For instance, Samsonite has had many celebrities lend their faces to the campaigns, such as Amitabh Bachchan, Sania Mirza, Mary Kom, and Milind Soman.

For American Tourister, the brand has had a long-term partnership with star cricketer Virat Kohli. The partnership came to an end last year after eight years of collaboration. 

For Kamiliant, the brand was shortlisting celebrities that have mass appeal across the country.

“We were looking for people who have a pan India following, which is why we decided to go for a duo here. Tiger has a slightly stronger following in the north, whereas Tamannaah has a slightly stronger following in the South. Also, having the male female mix is very important now, because women are becoming an important consumer cohort of the category.”

This ambassadorial strategy is emblematic of the brand's core narrative—Shroff embodying structural resilience and performance, Bhatia representing contemporary elegance and glamour, as per Tainwala.

Kamiliant within Samsonite's portfolio stratification

Within Samsonite's Indian market portfolio, the company operates three distinct brands, each carefully positioned to address different consumer segments.

Samsonite represents the premium offering, with cabin-sized luggage priced above Rs 10,000.

With Samsonite, we are really operating at the very premium, and niche end of the market. The communication language is always about the engineering excellence and the craftsmanship.

Anushree Tainwala, Samsonite 

American Tourister sits in the mass-premium segment, "positioned as a mass-premium youth brand. It's vibrant, trendy, and appeals to a younger demographic". The brand recently brought in Ananya Panday and Siddhant Chaturvedi as brand ambassadors to strengthen its youthful appeal.

Kamiliant, however, occupies the value segment, competing directly with homegrown brands like VIP and Safari.

"It caters to all age groups but primarily targets first-time travellers looking for affordable, stylish, and durable luggage, without diluting American Tourister's brand equity. It has since grown significantly, surpassing several legacy Indian players in terms of sales."

Notably, the brand is priced differently from its sibling brands, with Tainwala pointing out that Kamiliant is "priced approximately 15-20% lower than American Tourister, making it a more affordable option while maintaining international brand credibility."

Distribution strategy

Kamiliant employs a multi-channel distribution strategy that encompasses diverse retail touchpoints. As Tainwala explains, the brand operates across three primary channels: general trade, modern trade, and e-commerce. In the general trade segment, Kamiliant has established a presence in 4,000–5,000 local mom-and-pop stores, leveraging distributor partnerships to extend its reach.

The brand has secured strategic placements in major hypermarket chains, including Reliance, and D-Mart.

These modern trade channels provide critical penetration into Tier 2 and 3 cities, enabling Kamiliant to access broader consumer markets beyond metropolitan centres. Complementing its physical retail strategy, the brand maintains a robust e-commerce presence across major online marketplaces.

In October 2024, Kamiliant introduced Kamiliant Super Value stores. These outlets are strategically located in traditional luggage markets such as Parel in Mumbai and Lajpat Nagar in Delhi, to “create a clutter-breaking, premium retail experience in these high-footfall areas.”

The brand has already established over 60 outlets and aims to scale up to 150-160 stores by year-end. This approach is underpinned by a robust local manufacturing strategy, with the brand's Nasik facility producing over 700,000 units monthly, “ensuring a Made in India approach” that supports both distribution and brand positioning.