Few Rhode Island companies can boast of an internationally recognized brand name
like that of American Tourister in Warren, R.I. Television viewers, especially, might
remember the famous gorilla jumping up and down on a piece of American Tourister luggage,
and throwing it against the bars of its cage, without being able to damage it.
American Tourister is a classic success story. Its founder was Sol Koffler, an ambitious
immigrant from Poland with only a grammar school education. Koffler came to America full
of drive. In his earlier years in this country, he earned money by working two and three
jobs simultaneously. He also earned money by prizefighting and had about 15 professional
matches to his credit when he left the ring.
In 1932, Koffler founded the American Luggage Works in Warren. The company quickly
established a reputation by producing quality luggage at a reasonable price. It was also
an innovator, becoming the first to manufacture molded luggage.
In 1938, the company introduced a new line of innovative luggage called American
Tourister, which formed the basis of the company's name when it was changed in 1978.
Koffler quickly became known as an innovator. During the 1930s he took machinery
then being used to make plywood radio cases and adapted it to make more durable luggage.
In the 1940s, he introduced all-vinyl luggage and the first molded plastic luggage.
In the 1950s, he improved the molded plastic luggage manufacturing process to create a
nearly indestructible, low-cost product. As time went on, the company introduced padded
handles, stronger locks and an expanded line of colors.
Company innovations continued through the '90s when American Tourister won the Industrial
Designers Society of America award for its EasyTurn wheel handling system.
Koffler turned to national advertising in 1945 when he committed $12,000 for the
company's first-ever campaign. That campaign helped established American Tourister with a
national market.
In the 1950s and 1960s, the company used testimonials on its products' durability in its
campaign but it wasn't until the 1970s that American Tourister established a standard for
national recognizability. The advertising agency Doyle, Dane, Bernback of Chicago created
the first American Tourister gorilla in TV and print ads, taking durability communication
to another level. That campaign won the highly coveted 1981 Clio Award for creativity and
imagination and subsequently was voted into the Clio Hall of Fame.
As the company became increasingly successful, Sol Koffler turned to charity
work and became one of the Rhode Island's best-known philanthropists, giving to schools,
colleges, hospitals and other worthy causes. A medical building at Brown University and
the technology building at Bryant College are named after him. He also donated to Miriam
Hospital, Providence Hebrew Day School and the R.I. Jewish Home for the Aged.
Among the many honors bestowed on him were honorary doctorate of science degrees in
business administration from Bryant College Providence College and Roger Williams
University. Koffler passed away in 1993 in a nursing home in Florida at the age of 86, but
his name undoubtedly will be a piece of the Rhode Island landscape for many years to come.
In 1978, Hillenbrand Industries, Inc., an Indiana-based conglomerate, purchased
American Luggage Works and renamed it American Tourister. In 1993, the company was sold
again, this time to Astrum International Corp. of New York, joining Astrum's other world
recognized products lines of Samsonite, Botany 500 and Culligan water products.
In 1995, Astrum separated its business operations into two independent companies --
Samsonite Corp. and Culligan Water Technologies. Today, Samsonite is the country's leading
manufacturer in terms of dollar revenues, but American Tourister remains the number one
manufacturer in terms of unit sales. The target audiences are very different, according to
John Simon, vice president of sales. Samsonite is targeted to the business traveler, while
American Tourister products are aimed at the serious leisure traveler.
While American Tourister manufacturing operations have been relocated to other
states, world headquarters remains in Warren. It is here that products are designed,
developed and marketed, and that the retail sales staff and company officers are located.
In addition, the Warren office contains a factory outlet which offers products from other
companies, as well as its own, to the retail customer.
Factory outlet stores have become one of the company's stronger growth areas. So far, more
than 100 factory outlets have been opened, with more on the line. "The future looks
very bright for retail operations," says Mark Korros, senior vice president of
retail.
Although American Tourister today is very different from the American Luggage Works that
Sol Koffler ran in the early 1930s -- with a parent company and an internationally
recognized brand name -- the headquarters is likely to remain in Warren, where company
executives can run its far-flung operations, for many years.
