Established in 1971, VIP Industries Limited is the flagship company of the 200 million dollar DG Piramal Group. Its longstanding familiar Indian brand VIP is the largest luggage brand in Asia and the second largest producer of moulded luggage in the world after Samsonite. The first VIP suitcase was rolled out in 1971, and since then over 60 million pieces of VIP luggage have been sold around the world. In the organized Indian luggage market, VIP leads with a 60% market share, followed by Samsonite at 40%. In the international market Samsonite leads with 20% market share where as VIP follows at 6% with operations spread across 5 continents and in 27 countries.
VIP’s product range includes a variety of hard and soft luggage – strolleys, suitcases, duffle bags, overnight travel solutions, executive cases, backpacks, and even school bags. Apart from the mother VIP brand, the company also owns other reputed brands such as Alfa, Footloose, Elanza, Buddy, etc. It also markets under license Delsey products in India. Moreover, it has acquitted the UK-based Carlton brand in a bid to penetrate the European market. VIP’s products reach over 8000 retail outlets across the country and over 1300 outlets across 27 countries globally.
Ever since its launch, VIP has been an epic brand synonymous with luggage in India. Its products priced for masses, enjoyed a near monopoly till the mid’90s, and its sentimental, powerful, and long-playing advertising campaign ‘Kal bhi, aaj bhi, kal bhi….’ remained etched in public memory for years to come. However, the scenario started changing with the international leader Samsonite’s entry into the India market in 1997. After a few initial setbacks, Samsonite started cracking the Indian market and posing a challenge for VIP. Along with tha t, a gabble of unorganized players also started confronting VIP at the lower end.
This propelled VIP to take stock of the