Did you know that when LEGO® bricks first launched in Canada, they were not produced by the LEGO® Group? The Samsonite Corporation, known around the world for producing luggage, made LEGO® bricks at their factory in Stratford, Ontario almost right through the 1980s. A recent blast from the past reminded me of that odd era. So, let’s take a look at the curious case of LEGO® by Samsonite… literally.
While perusing the exhibitors’ garage sale after hours at Bricks in Six 2024, I was suddenly struck by a wave of incredible nostalgia. Before me was a blue LEGO® briefcase. Its roughcast surface and embossed LEGO® logo immediately took me back over three and a half decades to my childhood brick collection… and yes, ALL my LEGO® once fit in that little case. Strange to imagine that now when every corner of my basement overflows with the stuff.
My entire LEGO® collection once fit in a little blue briefcase 32.5 cm long x 24.5 cm wide x 9 cm deep.
I had this exact blue case when I was a kid. I used to store the bricks for my Black Falcons Fortress in it. As I touched the handle for the first time in almost 40 years, it was like reaching back and touching the past. It felt so familiar in my hand despite all the years that have passed. I don’t remember what happened to my original case, it was lost somewhere along the way. Needless to say, I bought the one I found at Bricks in the Six.
When I opened the lid, I found details I never really paid attention to as a kid. Embossed on the inner surface, the lid reads “made in Canada for Samsonite”. Which reminded me of the LEGO® brick’s curious beginnings in North America. In the 1960s, Godtfred Christiansen sought to expand the LEGO® brand into North America. However, he did not have the resources to pull it off alone. He signed a 99-year licensing deal with King Shwayder, the president of the Shwayder Bros. Trunk Company, which later became the Samsonite Corporation.
Fitting that Samsonite made a suitcase for kids to store LEGO® bricks.
Under this arrangement, Samsonite produced LEGO® bricks at their factory in Stratford, Ontario for distribution throughout Canada and the United States. Sales in the States began in 1961. Despite production taking place in Canada, LEGO® sales only started the next year in Canada. Samsonite built a dedicated LEGO® factory in Colorado in 1965 to service the United States.
Despite the success of LEGO® in North America, the products were often inferior in quality to those produced in Denmark by the LEGO® Group. Samsonite continued to produce certain bricks using cellulose acetate plastic long after the LEGO® Group switched to ABS. According to A Million Little Bricks by Sarah Herman, LEGO® was also not a priority for Samsonite. They had many other products in their catalogue. In 1972, the LEGO® Group withdrew the license, terminating the LEGO® by Samsonite run in the United States… but not Canada. Samsonite retained its contract for marketing and distribution of LEGO® in Canada until May 1988. Allegedly, Samsonite of Canada was more in line with the LEGO® Group’s wishes than Samsonite in the United States.
The LEGO® Group took back the license from Samsonite in 1972, but Samsonite continued to distribute LEGO® in Canada until 1988.
In addition to the blue briefcase I bought at Bricks in the Six, I also own two LEGO® sets by Samsonite. I received them as a birthday gift a couple of years ago. I own sets 6 and 7, which were marketed as 135 and 145 in the United States during the 1970s. My kits are largely complete, but they were acquired secondhand, so some original pieces are missing and one of the boxes has unrelated stickers on it.
If you grew up playing with LEGO® bricks in Canada during the 1970s or 1980s, chances are you probably have some Samsonite bricks in your collection. Do you remember what sets you owned? Let me know in the comments or reach out on social media.
Until next time,
-Tom
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4 responses to “The Curious Case of LEGO® by Samsonite”
I never had the Samsonite cases, but I did have Lego. One thing I learned a few years ago was that the packaging was different in Canada. For example: space sets in that era came in a box with a flap that opened up so you could see what was in the set. The box had a clear cellphane window showing the parts inside. The parts inside were in a plastic tray. US versions of the set had a clear plastic tray, but Canadian versions had a blue tray. It was only when I learned that Samsonite had stopped making the US versions that it made sense to me.
I didn’t know that. I remember several of my sets had clear plastic windows to see the contents. I also distinctly remember the blue tray in my Black Falcons Fortress set.
Oh wow… As soon as I saw the pictures, I remembered how the box felt to the touch, the sound it made… and how hard it was to open for my little fingers!
I had forgotten how hard it was to open for little hands 😂