From newspaper seller to king of suitcases: who created Samsonite?

On July 25, 1970, on page 17 of The New York Times, a brief obituary announced the death of Jesse Shwayder, founder of Samsonite. The text explained that Shwayder had died at his home in Denver at the age of 88, after having turned a small company of travel trunks into one of the world's largest manufacturers of suitcases, backpacks, and accessories: Samsonite.The note also stopped at a detail: before founding the suitcase company, Shwayder had started working selling newspapers and delivering orders for the family grocery store. That summer day, the boy who had carried news through the streets of Denver had ended up starring in one, discreetly, in one of the world's most important newspapers. But how did Shwayder manage to build an empire that, in 2025 alone, generated nearly 3 billion euros?Newspapers, groceries and suitcases

Jesse Shwayder was born in 1882 in Black Hawk, Colorado, into a Jewish family of Polish origin who soon moved to Denver. As a child, he began working selling newspapers and delivering orders for his father's grocery store. After going through the family business and working as a salesman for a luggage manufacturer, in 1903 he opened his own suitcase store. Seven years later, at 28 years old and with savings of $3,500, he founded the Shwayder Trunk Manufacturing Company, the company that decades later was renamed Samsonite.In 1910, Shwayder launched his own trunk factory in a small back room in downtown Denver. The business started with few employees and a very clear idea: not to compete with cheap luggage brands, but to manufacture sturdy, well-finished pieces designed to last for years and years. At that time, traveling was still a privilege and suitcases had to be able to withstand the battering of long journeys made by train or ship. Shwayder understood that the best way to make his mark in that market was to be able to explain to the customer that, if they bought one of his trunks, they could bet their bottom dollar that it would withstand all the jolts of the trip.But it wasn't enough to make durable luggage: people had to believe in it. Shwayder found a very graphic way to do this: in one of the company's first campaigns, he, his father, and his brothers appeared standing on a plank supported only by one of their trunks. The message couldn't be clearer: if that piece could hold the weight of an entire family, it could also withstand the knocks of a journey.The name of Samsonite

Over the years, the business grew and several Shwayder brothers joined. The company left behind the small initial shop and began to manufacture on a large scale. For decades, the company remained linked to the Shwayder surname, until in 1939 it presented a new line of luggage with a name inspired by Samson, the biblical character associated with extraordinary strength. The idea fit perfectly with the narrative the company had built from day one. That suitcase ended up giving its name to the entire company.But the world of travel changed. Large wooden trunks, designed for long journeys, began to fall behind in a society that moved faster and with less luggage. Samsonite responded with lighter, more practical, and modern suitcases: the Streamlite in 1941, the Silhouette in 1958, and in 1963, the Classic Attaché, a briefcase designed for a new generation of executives.In 1969, it opted for polypropylene to manufacture lighter suitcases; in 1974, it incorporated wheels into the Silhouette collection, an innovation that seems elementary today but forever transformed the experience of carrying luggage; and, in the 21st century, it popularized four-wheeled suitcases, ultra-light materials, and more sustainable collections made from recycled plastic. More than a century after that Denver back room, Samsonite is no longer just a suitcase brand: it is a global group that also controls brands such as Tumi and American Tourister, selling backpacks, bags, and accessories.