Db Journey SS24 Lifestyle Backpacks Preview

Retail Buyers Guide: Lifestyle Backpacks SS24 Retail Buyer‘s Guide
Brand: DB
Interviewee: Jonathan Weaver, CMO

What are the main current trends in the lifestyle backpack market?
Its very country dependent so where in Scandinavia the larger backpack is part of everyday life, in Central Europe where commuting by public transport is more of a thing, slimmed down lines are more in line with what we see for consumers.

What were your best sellers in SS23?
For us it’s the iconic Hugger and Ramverk family. The Hugger started life on the mountain before adoption in cities around the world. It’s kind of the pack you can use for everything whether it’s heading to work or out into the outdoors for the weekend. Similarly the Ramverk packs have been really well received after their launch focused on photographers they’ve become staples of cities around the world. We also saw great adoption of our backcountry snow pack which again was built for the mountains but has been used by our community across cities also. The technical look and feel seems to be translating really well right now and probably dictating future directions.

How are you segmenting your SS24 lifestyle backpack collection and what are the price points?
Well our Ramverk Pro (300+ euros) and Backcountry packs ($249) are the premium in terms of price but again are built with specific consumers in mind. From there we have the Hugger family around $199 to $249. We’ve brought in an essential line to help on segmentation with a simple clasp pack which sits around the $99 euro mark. With all that being said, whilst we’re adopting a market segmentation approach we aren’t going to be the brand competing at the entry level. It’s not us and there’s already a ton of competition in the space.

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What are the most important technical features in your SS24 lifestyle backpack collection?
On the ramverk we’re delivering an update and so bringing in water bottle pockets is a huge one for our consumer. Then ensuring hook up compatibility is always a key USP so people can take a snow roller or surf coffin and load up their backpacks on their to get the weight off their backs

What materials are you using in your SS24 collection?
We’re using mainly certified recycled materials, from fabrics and textile trims, to foams, reinforcement plates, and luggage shells. We favor metal trims in most of our products to increase durability.

What silhouettes are you featuring in your SS24 collection? Any construction techniques you’d like to highlight?
We’ve worked on a wide collection of products ranging from technical products inspired from the needs of professional snowboarders, surfers, skateboarders, and photographers to more simple silhouettes featuring the essential features you’d need for your daily use. Concretely, this means technical rolltops with full back access and specific compartmenting for a snow usage, full front-access backpacks providing a perfect overview over your stuff and the possibility to easily combine the products with our range of camera inserts, drybags and packing cubes, ranging from 15 to 34L. Always with a very recognizable silhouette typical from Db. And more classic shapes on our entry level offer with smart features and always our premium level of quality.
As for construction techniques, we can name a fully seam taped, waterproof rolltop perfect for use in bad weather conditions. And a very minimal style for which our product team has tried to achieve a zero-waste construction using specific folding techniques and as few seams as possible.

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What colours and prints are you featuring in your SS24 collection?
Blackout
Blue Hour
Fogbow Beige
Moss Green
Sand Grey
Line Cluster 01
Concrete Dice (limited edition)

What efforts are you implementing towards sustainability?
Well in 2024 we’re switching to 100% recycled fabrics. It’s a goal we have been diligently working towards for a few years now and finally we’ve got our manufacturer relationships to a place where we can this. We’ve also phased out various chemicals from our material portfolio and are now PFC-free and PVC-free. We’re also working with our manufacturing partners to decarbonate their production facilities, converting our main suppliers to renewable energy. It’s a huge step and also signals our intent in this space. More to come here soon!

How will you be supporting retailers with the SS24 sales?
You mean besides building Igloos from Huggers or Cake bike installs with ramverk? No in all seriousness we’re rolling out a systematic market wide POS system in SS24. Its the number 1 thing we’re asked for.

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