Sales of the Gregory brand of backpacks were up by 21.6 percent to $26.5 million for the first half of this year, amounting to an increase of 21.9 percent in constant currencies, with double-digit sales growth in Europe and Asia. The rise was reported by Samsonite, the owner of Gregory and the High Sierra brand, which had a tougher half-year. Its turnover amounted to $44 million for the half-year, down by 16.0 percent in reported terms and in constant currencies. High Sierra's sales dropped across North America, Asia and Europe. The entire Samsonite group raised its sales by 32 percent in constant currencies to reach $1,586.1 million for the six months. It was fueled by the acquisition of the Tumi brand, and soaring online sales. The group's capacity in e-commerce was reinforced with the purchase of eBags for $105.0 million in May. Excluding the acquisition of Tumi, the group's turnover was up by 7.5 percent. Gregory is part of the Samsonite group's casual category, which delivered a sales increase of 29.8 percent in constant currencies and 19.3 percent without Tumi. Samsonite's adjusted Ebitda was up by 26.9 percent to $241.5 million and its adjusted net income landed at $100.2 million, down by 0.1 percent.

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