With a new collaboration with Equinox and another one in development with Swarovski, Caraa, a 16-month company that specializes in stylish bags for the gym-to-the-office, aims to generate $2.3 million in sales this year.
That would be a considerable hike for a company that started selling in January 2016 and tallied $250,000 in annual sales. “The Equinox Tote” has a hidden shoe compartment, ultralight waterproof nylon lining and matte black hardware. The Caraa x Equinox design doubles as a backpack, and it has enabled the start-up to increase distribution in Equinox clubs from five to 45.
During the initial design process, creative director Carmen Chen Wu camped out at the juice bar in Equinox’s SoHo club for people watching. Caraa cofounder and chief executive officer Aaron Luo said, “She sat there with the team pretty much off and on for three months to see what kinds of bags people were wearing. We always joke about how we are in the market to solve two problems for women — the too many bags problem and the ugly gym bag problem.
“We stopped a few members, chatted with them, we spoke with the stores. But for us, we don’t believe in coming up with a
Follow WWD on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook.
Read More…