Affordable tote brand Scout is making inroads into the men’s market.
The bag and accessories firm will introduce three bags as part of a capsule line for its foray into the men’s accessories category on Aug. 6: the One Stop Dopp kit, the Gibson backpack and the Tucker duffel bag. The price points are $32.50, $79 and $105, respectively. The Dopp has two exterior pockets, while the Gibson has two exterior zipper pockets and an interior laptop sleeve. The Tucker has three exterior zipper pockets and interior open pockets.
All three are made from black-coated, heavy-gauge canvas, with a water-resistant interior. Use of the canvas fabric — plus heavier-duty zipper closures — means all three bags are meant for more rugged use. That’s in comparison with the existing lines of bags that are of either all-weather woven polypropylene, coated cotton or polyester twill and faux textured leather.
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Scout is a 14-year-old family-owned firm based in Washington, D.C. Deb Waterman Johns, chief creative officer, got the idea to create stylish, functional tote bags at affordable price points after seeing a high-fashion carryall — with a comparable price point — while in Milan. She was a former fashion stylist, while her husband was in the gift business. Waterman Johns also travels the world to get ideas from fabric houses, color fairs and even street fashion. Those ideas are culled for pattern selection for each season’s theme, and she works with in-house pattern designers to create original designs. Designs chosen for the season are produced only once and created as a limited edition line.
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The family’s first bag was introduced in 2004. The company named itself after its dog Scout, with a silhouette of a Dachshund as part of the brand’s logo. The Wink Collection, a faux textured leather line also referred to as pleather, was named after another dog. While Scout has since passed, there are three other dogs in addition to Wink — Ace, Buck and Rascal — that potentially could become names for future collections, the creative officer said. The totes average between $40 and $50, and the line has since been expanded to include lunch coolers and small accessories bags, all at average price point of between $20 and $35.
Even though the brand’s customers are women, she said the company decided to take a closer look at the men’s category because they were “looking for [bags for] their son, family and friend who is male.”
As for the selection of styles for the men’s capsule, Waterman Johns said, “Those three shapes address travel, the gym and walks to work in an urban setting.” While the product is made the same way as its core tote collections, she said the cotton and heavier zippers and snaps were chosen to emphasize durability and fashion, and cotton webbing with the canvas gives a “substantial feeling” to the bags.
