The old backpack briefcase had a hole in it, and it wasn’t healthy to carry 15 pounds of stuff on my shoulders anymore, so I searched online and found a great deal on a Samsonite rolling briefcase. It arrived late last week.
My wife said, “Does that have the Samsonite lifetime warranty? Sometimes when you get something that’s discontinued, they don’t have the lifetime warranty. You should check.”
Fast forward to today. I was moving my stuff from the old briefcase to the new one, and saw a card from Samsonite. “Thank you for purchasing a fine Samsonite product… our Samsonite product is backed with a Three-Year Limited Warranty…. While our products are handcrafted using the finest materials available, our warranty is not unconditional.” And then there were lots of exclusions and exceptions.
At the bottom of the card, it said the following: “Heritage Travelware, Ltd., 430 Kimberly Drive, Carol Stream, IL 60188-1804 USA under license from Samsonite Corporation.”
This explained a lot. There wasn’t going to be an unlimited warranty, because this bag, no matter what the label said, was not Samsonite. It was Heritage Travelware – whoever they are.
Behind this simple label is a well-worn yet risky strategy. After more than 90 years manufacturing its own luggage, Samsonite has decided to trade on that name by licensing it out to other manufacturers. Designers have been doing this for decades (sometimes, much to their chagrin), but for Samsonite it’s particularly risky. I didn’t really think Geoffrey Beene designed that Dopp kit I bought years ago at Marshall’s, but I wasn’t buying a Samsonite toothbrush here, I was buying luggage. I thought – I really thought – that Samsonite, the purveyor of the lifetime warranty my wife valued so much, made that case I bought.
But they didn’t. And the licensor offered its own Three-Year Limited Warranty in place of the lifetime one. Brands take decades to create, but can fall apart in a flash. The easy money offered by licensing can come at a price – the erosion of goodwill and trust that has been built up over the years. Let’s hope my new bag lasts long enough for me to forget it’s a “Heritage.”
[Below is what luggage companies used to promise, before Three-Year Limited Warranties.]
