Shay Mitchell has sold her luggage brand Béis to travel-goods giant Samsonite in a deal valued at $178.5 million in cash, with the actress keeping a 15% ownership stake and her title as chief creative officer. The transaction gives Samsonite an 85% controlling interest in a brand that grew from a scrappy direct-to-consumer startup into a company generating roughly $210 million in net sales last year.
Mitchell sold around half of her existing equity in Béis as part of the deal, according to Los Angeles Business Journal. Beach House Group, the El Segundo-based brand incubator that held a 70% majority stake in Béis, sold its entire equity position in the transaction, according to Borsa Italiana. Beach House Group incubated Béis back in 2018, and the brand rose from there to become one of the more closely watched names in the direct-to-consumer travel space.
Mitchell, who rose to fame for her role in Pretty Little Liars, founded Béis and has continued to serve as its chief creative officer. She said the deal was a dream come true, per the Los Angeles Business Journal's report, and she expects to remain in a supervising role after the sale closes. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026.
How the Ownership Structure Works
Under the purchase agreement, Mitchell's holding company, Home Beis, holds a put option, and Samsonite holds a call option exercisable three years after closing that would allow the remaining 15% stake to transfer, according to Tiger Brokers. That structure gives Samsonite a clear path to eventual full ownership of Béis while keeping Mitchell bound to the brand's creative direction through the transition period.
Samsonite is financing the acquisition using cash on hand along with available borrowing capacity under its existing revolving credit facility, the same Borsa Italiana report notes, meaning the deal will not dilute Samsonite's existing shareholders. Samsonite Group, which already owns Tumi, American Tourister and Hartmann, is a company valued at $19 billion. Kyle Gendreau, chief executive of Samsonite Group, said the deal aligns with the company's core objectives, including building digital capacity and growing awareness for consumer-centric brands, according to the Los Angeles Business Journal. Gendreau also said Béis has an impressive leadership team and a loyal customer following, and that Samsonite shares the brand's commitment to innovation, quality and consumer centricity.
A Brand Built Without Heavy Venture Backing
Béis targeted mostly millennial and Gen Z women and built its following largely through digital channels, cultivating what the Los Angeles Business Journal describes as a loyal customer base through differentiated products, authentic storytelling and a best-in-class digital-first business model. By August 2026, the brand had amassed more than 1.4 million Instagram followers and over 619,000 TikTok followers to drive direct-to-consumer sales, per the Borsa Italiana report.
Notably, Béis raised only $12.5 million in outside funding, in a Series B round led by Beach House Group and The Najafi Companies back in June 2022, while remaining profitable throughout its scaling, according to a case study from Femfounded. That capital efficiency sets Béis apart from many venture-backed direct-to-consumer startups that have burned through cash without reaching profitability. The brand also expanded beyond online sales into wholesale and airport retail, selling through Nordstrom, Revolve, Anthropologie, Bloomingdale's, Ulta, Selfridges and Hudson Airport Group across eight airports, the same case study notes.
Béis hit $200 million in annual revenue in 2023, a 180% year-over-year jump from an earlier baseline of $20 million, according to a 2024 report from Glossy. That trajectory continued into 2025, when the brand generated about $210 million in net sales, per the Los Angeles Business Journal. Adeela Johnson, chief executive of Béis, said Samsonite's global scale, operational expertise and international platform will accelerate the brand's growth and help it reach more consumers, the outlet reported. Samsonite plans to use its global distribution network and other resources to expand Béis' reach going forward.
Investors React, and Samsonite's Own Numbers
Samsonite shares listed in Hong Kong surged more than 7% during intraday trading to HK$14.58 following the acquisition announcement on August 13, 2026, according to Tiger Brokers. The jump reflects investor enthusiasm for Samsonite's move into youth-focused travel products. Samsonite Group itself generated $1.68 billion in net sales across its global portfolio during the first half of 2026, maintaining a gross profit margin of 60.5%, according to a report from Investing.com.
Global luggage industry forecasts published in 2026 project sustained market growth through 2031, driven by rising international passenger volume and growing consumer preference for functional lifestyle luggage, according to research from Mordor Intelligence. That backdrop helps explain why an established conglomerate like Samsonite is willing to pay a premium for a digitally native, celebrity-founded brand rather than build one from scratch.
The Broader Celebrity-Brand Landscape
The Béis sale arrives amid a mixed track record for celebrity-founded consumer brands. Rare Beauty catapulted Selena Gomez to billionaire status in 2024, and Hailey Bieber's Rhode Inc. sold to e.l.f. Beauty for $1 billion in a deal reported by Bloomberg News in May 2026. But other celebrity ventures have struggled: Drew Barrymore's Flower Beauty, Kim Kardashian's SKKN and Gwen Stefani's GXVE Beauty have all recently closed, according to Modern Retail.
Modern Retail notes that celebrity-led brands face an increasingly saturated market and consumer fatigue, and that they need to cultivate consumer trust beyond simply attracting shoppers with a well-known name. A celebrity name helps drive the first purchase and product trial, per the same outlet, but product taste, effectiveness and price point are what drive the second purchase. Social media following alone, Modern Retail's analysis concludes, cannot replace the product-market fit and operational discipline needed for long-term growth — a test Béis will now face as it moves under Samsonite's ownership.
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