Start-Up Needs Your Input!

[bwqian]

Hello all. I have been a long-time lurker of Styleforum and it has always been a great resource for everything fashion related.

I am currently in business school and our group has decided to create a start-up selling men's bags / briefcases exclusively online.

From my own experience, I found it difficult to find a well-made bag for a reasonable price when I was going through interviews. Our goal is to create high quality canvas / leather bags for undergrad / grad male students that wish to complete their outfit for their interviews and their first job. We are going after classic styles (ie. Filson-esque), but with a modern clean look.

Styleforum has always been ahead of its time and we are hoping to get some input from the community on our project. Some topics we would like to discuss are:

- What brands do you consider when looking at briefcases / bags for work / interviews?
- How much are you willing to pay for a bag? How much do you usually pay?
- Do you see a bag as an investment that you are going to be using for years to come?
- How important is Made in America or another developed country to your purchase decision?
- What characteristics do you care about the most when looking at purchasing a new bag?

Any other thoughts / comments / suggestions are greatly welcomed as well.


Thanks!

 

[jrd617]

Is this an actual company or just something you're putting together on paper for a graded project?

In my experience, I don't see many guys with briefcases these days. It seems like I'm the only one hauling around a briefcase.

There are niche companies like Howard Yount that make bags like you describe. Howard Yount seems to be doing canvas briefcases ala filson http://www.howardyount.com/collections/accessories

Also, outside the Styleforum population, not many guys truly care about country of origin. They say they love things American made, but then they go down to Target and buy cheap Chinese-made stuff. Price is more important to them. I think there have been a number of studies showing that there is a disconnect between what American consumers say they like to buy their stuff from and what they actually buy.

 

[bwqian]

It's a school mandated project, but we are hoping to actually start the venture if our due diligence checks out.

Thanks for the link. Just to clarify, we are looking to make something like this Filson briefcase , but cleaner and more professional looking.

 

[jrd617]

How would it be "cleaner" than the Filson? Non-contrasting colors? Smaller metal hardware? I don't think I've ever heard Filson bags called "busy." Also a canvas bag is inherently "casual," not "professional" (a leather Swaine Aldney Brigg, for instance, is more formal)

What are you thinking of pricing these at? Given the small population of guys who carry briefcases and the small population of people that care about country of origin, you'd have to price these quite low to get new converts.

Also have to factor in the cheapskate iGent crowd that tends to buy Filson's on sale or on deep discount on Fleabay.