Karrimor

Karrimor is a British brand of backpacks, outdoor and sports equipment, and clothing.

The company was founded as the Karrimor Bag Company in 1946

Financial difficulties led to the company entering receivership in March 2004, after which the trademark was acquired by Sports Direct and is now used for running products.

Karrimor was founded and based in Lancashire, England, following World War II, with the company moving early on from Rawtenstall shop premises to nearby Clayton-le-Moors. Its history began in 1943, when Waterfoot bicycle shop owner Charles Parsons (1910–?) went blind from an accident that had occurred in 1939. Under war and post-war conditions, he was also unable to obtain saddlebag and pannier stock for sale, but was still able to buy local raw fabric. His wife and her sister (Mary Parsons 1914–? and Grace Davies) began to make bicycle bags for his shop, which the family also began to sell locally to other shops. This led to the Karrimor Bag Company being formed in 1946. As a saddlebag manufacturer it competed with companies then in the same industry, such as Carradice and Dunlop.

The company was incorporated and changed its name to Karrimor Weathertite Products (named for their Weathertite cycling bags) in April 1952, before diversifying into backpacks in 1958, where during the 1960s and 1970s it made its reputation.

Relationships with climbers on high altitude expeditions was one of the keys to both innovation and marketing in both Karrimor and Mountain Equipment. Sharing the common ground of climbing and outdoor sport helped to create common understandings and shared perceptions. This bridge between technical knowledge and sporting needs played a crucial role in ... establish[ing] a growing dominance of the rucksack market [...] [Karrimor's] early development involved combining old and new technologies, materials and skills with a far higher level of customer interaction than had been common in the cotton industry.

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