From his office in Kowloon across the water from Hong Kong island, Tim Parker, chief executive of Samsonite, displays the confidence of a man who has turned round struggling businesses before.
Dressed casually in jeans, the man once dubbed the “Prince of Darkness” for slashing costs and jobs at Clarks in an ultimately successful bid to save the shoe company, has managed to repeat the trick at Samsonite.
He was made chief executive in 2009 by private equity group CVC to save its investment. He has since turned round the 103-year-old luggage manufacturer, which, after listing in Hong Kong in June 2011, has increased its share price by about two-thirds to HK$22.50.