Eastpack
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Formerly called
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Eastern Canvas Products |
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| Industry | Retail, fashion |
| Founded | 1952 Boston, Massachusetts, USA |
| Founder | Monte Goldman |
| Headquarters | Bornem, Belgium and Stabio, Switzerland |
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Area served
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Worldwide |
| Products | Bags, luggage, accessories, apparel |
| Parent |
VF Corporation (2000–present) |
| Website | www |
Eastpak is an American worldwide lifestyle brand founded in Boston, USA, specializing in the design, development, manufacturing and worldwide marketing and distribution of a range of products including bags, backpacks, travel gear and accessories. The company began as Eastern Canvas Products USA, Inc. in 1952, producing bags and packs for the US military before focusing on the consumer market under the brand name Eastpak as of 1976. It is part of the VF Corporation brand portfolio.
Eastpak was founded in 1952 by Monte Goldman as Eastern Canvas Products USA Inc.. Early activities included the manufacture of a line of duffel bags, backpacks and safety equipment for the US Army. The company direction changed dramatically, however, when Monte’s son Mark Goldman joined the company in 1976. He transformed the company’s retail product line into a fully-fledged consumer brand and launched the first line-up of bags and packs at a sportswear trade fair in Chicago in 1977. Norman Jacobs joined the company in 1980 and together with partner, Mark Goldman, claimed a market-leading share of the US college market on the East Coast throughout most of the 1980s and early 1990s.
In 1985 Eastpak introduced bright colors and prints to the bags collections, cementing the brand’s evolution from an outdoor brand to an urban lifestyle brand. The company retained its image and reputation for quality and durability by also becoming the first bags brand to offer a lifetime warranty on its products (for legal reasons, the warranty is limited to 30 years). The evolution towards a bolder, more original style was also matched in the mid-1980s by increasingly provocative advertising campaigns featuring, e.g. the controversial comic-book character Andy Capp. Eastpak entered the luggage market in 1999 with the first wheeled trolley produced for the consumer market. The brand was acquired by VF Corporation in 2000, the clothing and apparel giant, where it joined other brands such as JanSport, The North Face, Kipling, Lee and Wrangler.
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