What changed
Samsonite completed its purchase of 85% of BÉIS for $178.5M
When
Signed August 12, 2026; closed October 1, 2026
Who it affects
Samsonite Group, BÉIS, Beach House Group, Shay Mitchell
What to do
DTC brands: build channel mix and margin a buyer will pay for

Key takeaways

  • Samsonite closed its purchase of 85% of BÉIS on October 1, 2026, for $178.5 million in cash.
  • The roughly $210 million value is about one year of BÉIS's $210 million 2025 net sales.
  • Strategic buyers pay for what fills their gaps: Samsonite's own sales grew 1.1% in H1 2026.

BÉIS from launch to Samsonite

  1. Shay Mitchell founds BÉIS with Beach House Group

  2. Net sales about $210M, profitable

  3. Samsonite signs deal for 85%

  4. Samsonite H1 sales up just 1.1%

  5. Deal closes, $178.5M cash

What happened with the Samsonite BÉIS deal

Samsonite, the Hong Kong listed owner of Samsonite, TUMI and American Tourister, signed a definitive agreement on August 12, 2026, to buy 85% of BÉIS. In a corrected release issued the next day it put the enterprise value at about $210 million, subject to a normal working capital adjustment, and said it would pay with cash on hand and its revolving credit facility.

Samsonite said the deal closed on October 1, 2026. BÉIS stays a standalone brand run by CEO Adeela Hussain Johnson and its current team. Beach House Group, the incubator that held 70%, sold its entire stake. Mitchell rolled over about half of her equity and keeps 15%, staying on to lead creative and product.

A $210 million brand sold for about $210 million

The striking number is the multiple. Samsonite said BÉIS generated about $210 million in 2025 net sales, with rapid, profitable growth at attractive margins. An enterprise value of about $210 million is roughly 1 times trailing sales for a profitable, digitally native brand with more than 1.4 million Instagram and 619,000 TikTok followers.

Samsonite did not explain the price, so we will not guess at its model. What the release does show is what it valued: a younger, mostly female customer, exposure to lifestyle bags (about half of BÉIS net sales), and digital skills. It plans to add its own global distribution, sourcing and logistics to take BÉIS into new markets.

  • About $210M enterprise value, about $210M 2025 net sales
  • $178.5M cash for 85% of the equity
  • Founder keeps 15%, incubator exits fully
  • Lifestyle bags are about 50% of BÉIS sales

Why Samsonite wanted a growth brand now

Samsonite's own sales are flat. In the first half of 2026 its net sales were $1,680.6 million, up 1.1% reported and down 0.7% in constant currency, with North America down 3.9%. Its direct to consumer e-commerce rose 6.4% and reached 12.3% of net sales, and lifestyle bags were 37.4% of sales.

So the buyer bought growth in the two places its core business is moving, online sales and non-luggage bags, rather than more luggage. For founders, that is the lesson in how strategic buyers think: they pay for what fills a gap in their own numbers.

What this means for sellers and brands

A big community and $210 million in sales did not produce a big revenue multiple. BÉIS sells through its own site and wholesale partners, and a buyer like Samsonite already owns wholesale and retail reach. The parts it could not build itself were the brand and the audience. Our DTC marketing strategy examples show how brands turn that audience into repeat buyers.

If a marketplace like Amazon is part of your plan, a buyer will look at whether that channel is controlled: registered trademarks, protected listings and ad spend you can explain. Our Shopify vs Amazon FBA guide covers how the two channels differ in margin and control, and Amazon Brand Registry is the first step to owning your listings.

Numbers a brand buyer checks

  • Margin after fees, returns and ads
  • Repeat customer revenue
  • DTC, wholesale and marketplace split
  • Trademarks and listing control
  • Organic versus paid sales

What sellers should do

If you want your brand to be worth more than one year of sales, work on the numbers a buyer checks before the call.

  • Report gross margin after returns, fees and ad spend by channel
  • Show how much revenue comes from repeat customers
  • Split DTC, wholesale and marketplace sales clearly
  • Register trademarks and lock down marketplace listings
  • Cut ad spend that buys sales you would get anyway
  • Run a free Amazon audit to see what your Amazon channel costs

Where PPC Spider helps

PPC Spider is a Shopify DTC agency and Amazon agency. SpiderOS watches bids, budgets, search terms and stock every day, and we set target ACoS from product margin after fees so growth does not eat profit. More brand and deal stories are on the Shopify and ecommerce news channel.

Sources

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