Bottoli defines as ‘luxury’ products that are not necessary. “A lot of people travel for sheer pleasure. Many people think luggage is more than just a box. The challenge is to give a product an emotional pull. When luggage becomes an accessory its user attributes a higher value to it. Generally, the smaller an object is and the more higher-end its materials, the stronger emotional attachment you have to it. Then when you add the perfect retail environment and the correct level of service you add even more to the product’s intrinsic value.

“It’s not rocket science – we’re just trying to produce things people can get more emotional about,” he adds.

He does not believe that luxury is about exclusivity. “Louis Vuitton has exquisite craftsmanship but it manufactures on an industrial scale. Its goods are produced in 17 factories worldwide. If you look at our portfolio we are not all luxury, we are a composite group, focused on making top products in the sectors we are in. We don’t need a ‘made in Italy’ label for cachet. The product has always stood on its merits whether made in Asia, the US or Europe.”

Samsonite, present in 100 countries and with 700-plus stores, manufactures its products in three factories it fully owns – in Oudenaarde, Belgium; Szekszard, Hungary; and Nasik, India – plus sub-contracted ventures in France, China, Slovakia and Mexico. When Bottoli joined Samsonite, the company had to restructure. Fixed costs were slashed – some factories closed – to improve margins and invest in the brands, changes he describes as structural rather than tactical. The company now employs 5,000 people.

Far more challengingly, to metamorphose from a “commodity” company to a “lifestyle” or “aspirational” one, Samsonite has had to constantly introduce higher-end products and create an enticing retail environment. One of Bottoli’s first coups was employing design guru Marc Newson as “guest designer”. While continuing with its eponymous business travel line and the mass-market American Tourister range, the mainstays of department store basements, Mackay was charged with making €600 carry-on bags.

In October 2005 Samsonite launched its highend Black Label along with 40 boutiques in key fashion cities. The first Black Label soft bag collection was unveiled on a Milan catwalk. Samsonite copied Louis Vuitton in presenting luggage as haute couture and its marketing budget ballooned; the promotional spend for 2007 was €52.7m up from €48.2m in 2006. Isabella Rossellini and Richard Branson – representing glamour and business savvy, respectively – have appeared in ad campaigns.