The Business of Bags

People have so much stuff to carry around nowadays. Briefcases aren't just for paper anymore. Travel bags need to hold more than a change of clothes and some toiletries. So what will hold an end-users' phone, tablet, laptop, business papers, work attire, etc.? We spoke to two bag suppliers to find out the top bags for working in the office or on the road.

Top Bags

For Debco, business briefs and backpacks are big sellers for businesspeople. "I'd say that these days it's about 50/50, and that never used to be the case," said Alex Morin, executive vice president of sales and marketing for Debco, Concord, Ontario, Canada. "Business briefs used to be at least 80 percent of the market for business bags whereas now you're seeing tons of people gravitating toward a backpack."

Meanwhile Bags Depot Inc. cited the brief case and messenger bag as its top business sellers. "In most cases it's because it has room to store your electronic stuff, but also your paperwork," Emmanuel Olguin, customer service representative for Bags Depot Inc., Ontario, Calif., said.

Finding the Perfect Fit

After determining which type of bag best fits your client, learn what will be going in the bag. The product's size is geared purely around the desired contents, Olguin noted. "Usually they're trying to fit something specifically inside the bags," he said. "Let's say a specific type of laptop or a specific type of document and they want to make sure it fits."

Most business bags will have enough space and padding to carry a laptop, but many will be able to carry a lot more, Morin added. "So you're seeing the evolution of those bags as they've become a bit more complex and a bit more suitable toward the types of things we're carrying these days," he said. "People are carrying more than one device, so you'll often find that they have to have enough room for a laptop, and then enough room for a tablet and, of course, documents [they're] going to be taking, including perhaps a padfolio [they] would put in there."