Last month we reported the news that beloved travel gear brand Eagle Creek was being shuttered by parent company VF Corporation at the end of the year. Plenty of readers of AJ and other publications cried out: No!
For years, Eagle Creek has made some of the best duffels, travel cases, and backpacks in the business. Buying a piece of luggage from Eagle Creek very likely meant many years of happy service. Well thought out products that work, over and over again. It was as if the designers spent all their time traveling and therefore were able to anticipate every need a traveler would have, no matter how small.
VF announced the closure of Eagle Creek with little explanation, other than to say to Outside Business Journal that to maintain the brand “no longer makes strategic or financial sense.” In a travel-light pandemic that may ring true. But travel gear isn’t all about getting on a plane. It’s often about a big rugged duffel you chucked in the back of a pickup or your sedan before hitting the road. About a well-designed backpack you could hike with, take to school or work, or use as an overnight bag.
Eagle Creek excelled, still does, at all of that.
The founders of the brand, Steve and Nona Barker, who sold to VF back in 2010, were not at all happy to hear of VF’s plans.
“We saw this coming, but it didn’t make the announcement any easier,” Steve told Outside Business. “We’ve had an overwhelming response from the outdoor industry. I was shocked at how many people reached out. There was a lot of empathy from people who had also grown brands in the industry. We’ve been going through a sort of grief process. We went through denial and I certainly went through my anger at moments. Then it was depression and acceptance. Now I’m just determined. What I’d like folks in the industry to know is that Eagle Creek is a great and viable brand. It has a great future and shouldn’t die.”
The Barkers have been in talks with VF about the possibility of buying Eagle Creek back. If they don’t (and Nona doesn’t think they will), the Barkers feel, another buyer will come along and do right by the brand. The couple feels strongly that there’s room for a brand that focuses on travel, outdoor rec, and conservation, pillars of Eagle Creek.
The Barkers participated in a lengthy Q/A with Kristin Hostetter of Outside Biz, which you can read here.
Can’t speak for the gear (not recycled so I don’t buy it) but I work in the conservation field and tried to engage with EC on conservation issues since they often branded themselves as an enviro/conservation-friendly brand. Their staff was consistently uninterested in making this a reality though, and in my interactions with them (post-VF acquisition), I never got the sense they walked the talk.
sometimes making gear that lasts pretty much forever is = or > “recycled”
A bag that can be used for a very long time and stay out of the land fill or the recycled process is more beneficial to the environment. Remember the 5 r’s. Refuse, reduce, reuse, repurpose, recycle. Recycle is last because it takes a lot of energy to recycle. So, a bag that is not completely recyclable but lasts a long time is better in the long run.
I carried an Eagle Creek Saker pack when I thru-hiked the AT in 1979. One of the very first internal-frame packs.
I have several pieces of Eagle Creek gear. Much of it over 15 years old, much it looks as it did in the showroom when I purchased it. It has endured numerous trips and a few visits to have minor repairs made so it would continue to be a dependable piece of kit. I guess you could say that is the downside to Eagle Creek Gear…it lasts and lasts
VF is more interested in collabs with TNF &Gucci ….. about being disconnected from your audience
VF has always thought pretty highly of themselves, but in touch w/their customers ? Not so much
Oh – What gerry & Lladnar said. Sometimes the short sightedness of some people, w/out really considering the big, overall picture is puzzling to say the least. I’d love to go through Dups closet.
I’m still using a convertible backpack (so old it converts from a backpack to a fanny pack from back when fanny packs were in fashion the first time around!) and Pack-It Cubes from 1996. They’d look brand-new if I washed them more often. The new gear is ugly and doesn’t seem to have all the cool features that made EC gear great. But they have always been my favorite brand. I used to get asked why I paid SOOO much for suitcases and I’d explain the “No Matter What” guarantee… had to use it once and it was so worth it! I would love if they made a comeback and rose back to the levels they use to float at.