German Backpack Maker Red Rebane Files for Bankruptcy Amid Asian Competition

Red Rebane, known for its backpacks and bicycle bags marked with a red fox logo, has filed for bankruptcy after losing ground to rising costs and cheaper Asian competition. The brand, however, is not disappearing entirely.

Christian Karius and Stephan Rodewald founded the company in Schwerin in 2012. Red Rebane focused on locally made, hand-sewn touring backpacks and bicycle bags, positioning them as high-quality products. Some of its most expensive items cost more than 1,000 zlotys.

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We were pioneers in our industry. We brought one of the first bicycle-rack-mounted backpacks to the market and did everything we could to make our product known.

“We were pioneers in our industry. We brought one of the first bicycle-rack-mounted backpacks to the market and did everything we could to make our product known,” Karius told the German service Nordkurier. The company later became insolvent, largely halted production and dismissed some employees.

Karius said manufacturing high-quality backpacks and bags in Germany had become increasingly difficult. The company faced higher material, energy and labor costs, as well as a severe shortage of skilled workers. The pandemic created another setback by preventing Red Rebane from attending trade fairs. The company began sewing masks for a local hospital and businesses, but many went unsold after FFP2 masks entered the market.

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That left us having to take out loans to keep the company going, and now all of them are becoming due.

“That left us having to take out loans to keep the company going, and now all of them are becoming due,” Karius said. The company’s designs were also copied by competitors producing mainly in Asia, allowing them to offer much lower prices. Karius said legal action over product theft offered relatively little chance of success.

Because Karius still owns the Red Rebane brand, he intends to continue offering backpacks and bags with the red fox logo locally and on a small scale. The Easy EXO flexible bicycle-rack extension system will remain available, while he also develops a business producing and repairing products.

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Of course, you can sue someone for stealing a product, but the chances of success are relatively slim.