In the Bag

The world's largest manufacturer of luggage is named after the Bible's powerful Samson. Its president has a name to match: King David. The firm's official corporate philosophy is the Bible's Golden Rule: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."* All company officers and salesmen carry a marble encircled by a gold band on which the Golden Rule is printed, take it out for inspiration when they have a business decision to make.

This philosophical approach -- wedded to some pragmatic business practices--has paid off handsomely for Denver's Samsonite Corp. The firm now accounts for more than a quarter of all U.S. luggage sold, and its sales last year reached a record $55.9 million. Last week, as orders from vacation-bound Americans flooded into Denver, Samsonite raised its 1965 sales estimate from $60 million to $64 million.

On to Furniture. Two-thirds of these sales are earned by Samsonite's familiar, streamlined luggage, which is recognized, used and often inadvertently exchanged by travelers around the world. Its dent-proof magnesium frame, flush snap locks, and a plastic skin that can withstand everything from the -50DEG F, cold in an airliner's cargo compartment to the rough treatment of baggage handlers, have lifted luggage sales almost beyond Samsonite's capacity. The company has placed its 13-acre Denver luggage plant on a seven-day, round-the-clock schedule, is actively scouting sites for three additional plants.

Samsonite is also strong in another product line: folding furniture. It manufactures about 40% of the home bridge-table sets and folding institutional furniture in the U.S., also produces patio furniture. A line of steel and plastic patio furniture called "Sunrest," introduced last fall, has piled up enough orders to keep Samsonite production lines busy until October.

By applying the Golden Rule to its retailers, Samsonite has built up a 15,000-store, nationwide distribution system that almost ensures steady sales for its luggage. The company requires retailers to sell Samsonite at list prices, but gives them a lucrative 40% to 45% markup. Samsonite salesmen tell dealers what luggage to buy and how to display and sell it, compensate them if the recommendations prove wrong, help them to train clerks.

Brothers on a Plank. Samsonite still bears the image of Biblicist Jesse Shwayder, who founded it in 1910 with $3,500. He brought his four brothers into the firm, introduced plywood-frame luggage and emphasized its strength with advertising that pictured the five Shwayder brothers standing on a plank supported only by a piece of their luggage. Shwayder retired in 1962, turned over control of the family-owned corporation to his son King David Shwayder and two able sons-in-law. Now 83, he still calls to offer them ideas.

Under King David, 54, and sharp Executive Vice President Emmett Heitler, a brother-in-law who runs the company's day-to-day operations, Samsonite has been diversifying. It recently opened a new factory in Loveland, Colo., to make children's interlocking construction sets, is planning to expand further into the toy field. Luggage will continue to be the company's mainstay: it makes more bags than the next ten luggage manufacturers combined. Some of the pieces are not available to the public: Samsonite makes special luggage for such firms as Ampex and IBM, turns out the special navy-blue bags that all United Air Lines stewardesses are required to use. Added up, Samsonite's popularity seems to show that Jesse Shwayder's choice of names was more than a mere boast.

* The familiar version, extracted from Matthew 7:12 and Luke 6:31.

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