Shay Mitchell’s BÉIS to Be Acquired by Samsonite in $210 Million Deal: ‘A Dream Come True’

Shay Mitchell is celebrating a major milestone for BÉIS, the luggage and lifestyle company she founded in 2018, after Samsonite announced plans to acquire the fast-growing brand in a deal valued at $210 million.

Samsonite Group announced the agreement on Wednesday, Aug. 12, confirming that it will acquire BÉIS as part of an effort to expand its lifestyle portfolio and strengthen its digital and direct-to-consumer capabilities.

For Mitchell, 39, who launched the company eight years ago and continues to serve as its Chief Creative Officer, the deal represents the realization of an ambition that began with a simple idea for practical, stylish travel products.

The Pretty Little Liars alum described the acquisition as “a dream come true.”

“I’m so proud of what our small but mighty team has built over the past eight years,” Mitchell said in a statement.

She explained that BÉIS had always been built around ambitious goals and said becoming part of Samsonite Group would create opportunities for the company to expand beyond what it could have achieved independently.

“We’ve always dreamed big, and joining the Samsonite Group gives us the chance to dream even bigger,” she said.

Mitchell described Samsonite as an ideal partner for BÉIS because of the ways the two companies’ strengths complement each other.

“They’re truly the perfect partner — our strengths complement each other so well, together we can take BÉIS places we couldn’t have on our own,” she said.

The actress and entrepreneur also emphasized that she remains deeply involved in the company despite its growth.

“I’m so thankful that I get to do something I love every day,” Mitchell continued. “Eight years in, I’m as excited as I was on day one. It honestly feels like we’re just getting started, and I can’t wait for everyone to see what’s next.”

The transaction involves Beach House Group, the company that helped launch BÉIS and currently owns a 70% stake in the business. Beach House Group will sell its shares to Samsonite as part of the $210 million acquisition.

If completed as planned, the deal will place BÉIS inside one of the world’s most established luggage groups while allowing the younger brand to continue developing the aesthetic and identity that helped fuel its growth.

Mitchell originally founded BÉIS in 2018, drawing inspiration from her own experiences as a frequent traveler.

The company’s beginnings were notably modest compared with the scale of the announced acquisition.

Mitchell previously told PEOPLE that she sketched what would eventually become the brand’s popular Weekender Bag on a cocktail napkin.

That initial concept helped form the foundation of a company designed around a straightforward idea: luggage and travel accessories should be functional without sacrificing style.

Over the following years, BÉIS expanded far beyond a single travel bag.

The brand developed a broad range of suitcases, totes, backpacks, organizers, accessories and other travel products, building an audience that responded to its combination of design, durability and practical features.

Mitchell’s public identity as both an actress and frequent traveler helped give the company visibility, but BÉIS also developed into a standalone lifestyle brand with its own customer base.

The company later expanded into products designed specifically for children.

Mitchell has said that her daughters, Atlas, 6, and Rome, 4, helped inspire BÉIS’ children’s luggage offerings.

She shares both children with her longtime partner, Matte Babel.

The family connection reflected the broader direction of the company, which increasingly expanded its product categories while attempting to maintain its travel-focused identity.

Samsonite executives said the acquisition fits directly into the company’s long-term growth strategy.

Kyle Gendreau, CEO of Samsonite Group, said he was looking forward to bringing BÉIS into what he described as Samsonite’s “family of innovative and iconic brands.”

He said BÉIS would help Samsonite pursue several strategic priorities at once.

“This transaction aligns closely with our key growth priorities: elevating awareness of consumer-centric brands, strengthening our digital capabilities to further support multi-channel growth, expanding our presence in lifestyle bags, and continuing to deliver innovative products that resonate with consumers around the world,” Gendreau said.

BÉIS has built a particularly strong identity through digital marketing and direct engagement with consumers, areas that Samsonite has identified as important for future growth.

By combining BÉIS’ lifestyle appeal and digital presence with Samsonite’s global infrastructure, the companies believe the brand will be able to reach a much larger international audience.

BÉIS CEO Adeela Hussain Johnson also welcomed the acquisition and emphasized the work that the company’s team has done since its launch.

She said she was “incredibly proud” of what BÉIS had created over the previous several years.

According to Johnson, Samsonite’s international reach and operational resources could allow BÉIS to accelerate its growth without abandoning the creative identity that made it successful.

“Samsonite Group shares our commitment to innovation, quality and consumer centricity, and their global scale, operational expertise and international platform will help us accelerate that growth and reach even more consumers,” Johnson said.

She also confirmed that she plans to continue leading BÉIS into its next phase.

“I’m excited to keep leading the team and business into its next chapter, staying true to the creativity and authenticity that have defined BÉIS from day one,” she added.

Beyond luggage and travel accessories, BÉIS has also used its platform for environmental and outdoor initiatives.

In 2024, the company introduced a utility collection supporting the National Park Foundation.

The initiative was designed to help reconnect young people with the outdoors while also contributing to conservation efforts aimed at protecting vulnerable natural habitats.

As part of the campaign, BÉIS created a traveling Camp BÉIS pop-up experience located near four major U.S. national parks: Yosemite, Zion, Rocky Mountain and Great Smoky Mountains.

The project reflected how the company has attempted to expand beyond traditional retail by connecting its travel products with broader lifestyle experiences.

The planned Samsonite acquisition now marks the biggest corporate development in BÉIS’ history.

For Samsonite, the deal provides access to a younger, digitally oriented lifestyle brand that complements its established position in the global luggage industry.

For BÉIS, becoming part of Samsonite could provide the infrastructure, distribution network and international reach required to scale the company considerably further.

At the same time, both Mitchell and Johnson have emphasized that maintaining the brand’s creative personality will remain a priority.

That balance could be crucial.

Much of BÉIS’ success has come from the sense that its products were designed around the practical frustrations of real travelers rather than simply following traditional luggage conventions.

Mitchell’s original cocktail-napkin sketch of the Weekender Bag has become part of the company’s origin story because it captures that approach: identifying a common travel problem and creating something that was both practical and visually distinctive.

Eight years later, that idea has evolved into a company valuable enough to attract a $210 million acquisition offer from one of the biggest names in the luggage industry.

The deal is not yet finalized.

According to Samsonite’s announcement, the acquisition is currently expected to close during the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions.

Until then, BÉIS will continue operating as the transaction moves through the approval process.

For Mitchell, however, the announcement already represents a defining moment in her journey from television star to entrepreneur.

What began in 2018 as an idea inspired by her own travel experiences has become a major consumer brand preparing to join a global luggage company.

And despite the scale of the deal, Mitchell suggested that she does not view the acquisition as the conclusion of the BÉIS story.

Instead, she sees it as the beginning of a much larger chapter.

Eight years after launching the company, she said she remains as excited as she was when it started.

Now, with Samsonite preparing to acquire BÉIS for $210 million, that original travel idea is poised to go considerably further.