| Timbuk2 | |
| Former Name: | Scumbags |
| Foundation: | San Francisco, California |
| Founder: | Rob Honeycutt |
| Location City: | San Francisco, California |
| Location Country: | United States |
| Key People: | Patti Cazzato, CEO[1] |
| Products: | Messenger bags, Backpacks, Travel bags, Accessories |
Timbuk2 is a San Francisco, California, United States, based bag manufacturer and marketer. The company produces a variety of pre-made and made-to-order bags.
Timbuk2 was founded in 1989 by bike messenger Rob Honeycutt in a garage in San Francisco's Mission District.[2] [3] Honeycutt was fascinated by "just in time" manufacturing and studied the Toyota manufacturing model which led him to develop a bag pattern that was able to accommodate custom orders from independent bike dealers in San Francisco.
The company was originally named Scumbags; Honeycutt changed the name to Timbuk2 Designs in 1990.[4] The name Timbuk2 was inspired in part by the American rock band Timbuk3 and the company's swirl logo was designed by Honeycutt and is meant to mimic the rotation of a bike wheel.[5]
Non-custom products are manufactured in China, Vietnam, and Indonesia.[6]
The company launched its flagship retail store in Hayes Valley, San Francisco in 2006.[7] In 2011, Timbuk2 launched a bicycle share program in its retail stores.[8] In 2013, the Timbuk2 opened a retail location in Seattle, Washington.[9] That same year, the company incorporated recycled Bike to Work banners into messenger bags and donated a portion of the profits to the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition.[10] Patti Cazzato was appointed to the role of CEO in July 2014.[11] That same year, the company encouraged bag owners to reuse and recycle their bags through its Timbuk2 Life Cycle program.[12]
Timbuk2 also added retail locations in Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles and Toronto in 2014.[7] [13] That same year, Timbuk2 collaborated with Blue Bottle Coffee Company to release a coffee travel kit.[14] As well, the company was ranked as the second largest manufacturer in San Francisco by the San Francisco Business Times.[15]
In July 2016, the company collaborated with the footwear company New Balance to release specially branded products.[16] [17] The company opened a flagship store in NoHo, Manhattan in October 2016.[18] In June 2017, the company opened an additional location in Brooklyn.[19] As of 2023, the Manhattan and Brooklyn locations are no longer open.[20]
The company was sold to a venture capital firm in 2005. In 2006 it sold to private equity group TB2 Investors, which owned it until 2019. In August 2019 it was sold to Exemplis, a Los Angeles-based furniture company.[21] [22]