The president of Samsonite Asia Pacific enthuses about the beauty of the Italian countryside and what's on his travel bucket list.
“Be obsessed with your consumers, not your competition,” is the mantra that guides Subrata Dutta’s leadership approach. As the president of Samsonite Asia Pacific since 2016 and formerly the managing director of Samsonite India and Middle East, he has contributed to the renowned luggage brand’s consistent effort to future-proof itself through international expansion, innovation and collaborations with brands such as Alexander McQueen, Thom Browne, Bape and the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.
Last year, Samsonite worked with British telecommunications bigwig, Vodafone, to update its luggage tracking solution, Track&Go, which received a lot of attention when it first launched in 2015. Though for Dutta, who was recently in town for the opening of Samsonite’s new concept store at The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands, “innovation need not always be about big, fancy bells and whistles.” Smaller innovations can make a world of a difference too, he adds, such as having a smart wrap in Samsonite’s bags that prevents clothing from getting caught in the zipper or using shock-absorbing shoulder straps for backpacks that reduces the tension on the shoulders, making the load feel lighter.
In most cases, if not all, these innovations are driven by the actual Samsonite customer’s needs and wants. “It’s only when we close our mind to our consumer’s expectations or chase solutions that are not relevant to them that we have a problem,” says Dutta. Lately, the expectation is for a luggage that is a travel companion, “not a mere piece of baggage to be passed to a porter to handle.” This idea that a bag plays a part in enhancing your travel experience is particularly true for Dutta, who shares more with us about his jet-setting life.
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