When Db CEO Richard Collier and the brand’s executives set out to raise money from investors a few years ago, it was largely to ensure the business was better capitalized.
“If your business is predominantly more winter-heavy, which we were in the past, you end up with these big challenges where you have to place your pre-orders, you don’t get the money from the accounts, and so you end up with large cash imbalances through the year,” explained Jonathan Weaver, Db’s chief marketing officer, who joined initially as a consultant in 2021 and who previously worked at Nike for more than 10 years.
“A large part of the goal of doing this was basically just having a better capitalized business so we could ensure that we could order enough product and make sure that we weren’t always running on fumes for a few months of the year,” Weaver said in an interview with SESO. Db makes premium luggage, backpacks, and adventure travel carrying gear such as a surfboard bag, known as the Surf Coffin, and a ski and snowboard bag, known as the Snow Roller.
That’s where LVMH Luxury Ventures Fund came in. The luxury giant took a minority stake in the Oslo-based company in November 2024, and in addition to capital, is also giving Db an opportunity to learn from its other premium brands. Then in June, Db announced that Norwegian soccer icon Erling Haaland and fashion model Gustav Magnar Witzøe were also investing and becoming strategic partners in the business.
From left: Db CEO Richard Collier, Gustav Magnar Witzøe, Erling Braut Haaland, and founder Truls Brataas. Photo courtesy of Db.
“We have a strategic partner with LVMH who can help us with some insights about growing a premium business, and now we have someone who can supercharge brand awareness around the world,” Weaver said. “Football (soccer) is one of those sports that you can do that.”
Product Standouts and Plans
Norwegian entrepreneur Truls Brataas and Swedish freeski legend Jon Olsson met while surfing in 2009 and formed the brand – originally called “Douchebags” – in 2010. Their first products were focused on making snow travel easier, and items like the innovative Snow Roller quickly became a best-seller.
Surf came next, with products such as the Surf Coffin. Db signed Jordy Smith and Craig Anderson and the brand works with accounts including Jack’s, Pukas, Wasted Talent, Haven, Visitor, and Magic Quiver.
Photo courtesy of Db.
Bags specifically made for photographers and skateboarders, as well as more mainstream or versatile travel luggage have followed, but they all employ sleek design, durability, and a distinct aesthetic.
“We have a collection of products which are very unique and have a point of view in the world,” Weaver said. “The Hugger, which is our main backpack, looks different to a lot of other backpacks. It’s quite bulky. It’s quite structural,” he said, drawing a comparison to On’s Cloud shoe line, which looked different from anything else when it was first introduced.
In 2026, Db will launch an aluminium line which will help the brand solidify its position as a disrupter to the industry, according to Weaver. Db is also working on its first golf travel collection.
Global Expansion and Focus on the U.S.
The U.S. is the brand’s No. 1 growth market. To help it grow, Db is working with Seattle-based Waypoint Outdoor to work with outdoor accounts such as Evo, REI, surf shops, and specialty retailers. NYC’s PLUSPLUS is handling sales in the lifestyle and luggage space.
DTC is 35% of total Db business and the U.S. accounts for 25% of the DTC business, which is higher than its B2B share, Weaver said. “People know us, but the challenge is getting products out to the right channels to meet that clear demand,” he said.
In Scandinavia, Db’s backpacks are its most popular products. In the U.K., where Db has reset its business, luggage is most in-demand. In the U.S., it’s been predominantly Snow Rollers and Surf Coffins, Weaver said.
“I think one of the reasons that they have got a very good (reputation) is both are products where you think, ‘Why did no one ever make this before?’” The Snow Roller, for example, adjusts to fit different sizes of skis and snowboards, or to fit additional gear. The handle placement can be adjusted, and it has what Db calls the “hook-up system,” where backpacks by the brand can hook onto the Snow Roller and the Surf Coffin.
Db’s innovative “hook-up” system makes it possible to maximize the load and carry with just one hand. Photo courtesy of Db.
“When I travel in the winter to go snowboarding with two kids, it means all of a sudden I can just carry everything basically in one hand, which is very good,” Weaver said.
Differentiating the Brand
In addition to making adventure travel super practical, Db has also made products to differentiate it from other brands, such an adjustable, compressible art carrying system for collectors and artists, and a pizza box for a sneaker store in Paris.
Communicating that brand personality, which combines design, adventure, practicality, performance, artistry, and a sense of humor comes in different forms, Weaver said.
Product launches will often focus more on design, for example, and the brand’s Scandinavian design heritage, its awards and accolades, or features. Last year, when the brand was less focused on innovation in its luggage line, Db rented an airport to shoot an ad showing all the strange and wonderful characters – the liquid hoarders and the early morning drinkers – one encounters while going through security and killing time before a flight.
With the help of Haaland and Witzøe, expect to see more celebrities and star athletes in its marketing campaigns, too.
“When I worked at Nike, the commercials that came out, like the SB ad with P-Rod, ‘Today Was a Good Day.’ – we had P-Rod, and then you had Ice Cube, and then you had Kobe Bryant. That’s the kind of special sauce that gets stuff picked up,” Weaver said. “And that’s the sort of awareness that someone like Erling can bring.”
Charting the Future
Tariffs are presenting some uncertainty, but Weaver said that even though the U.S. is a big growth market, only a small percentage of its products on a global scale will be impacted. Db also filled its warehouses when it got its initial investment from LVMH to ensure it had stock in advance of shifting trade policy. If tariffs continue, prices on some products will inevitably increase.
“I don’t think it will affect us in the same way that I’ve seen elsewhere,” Weaver said. “I was buying some fins the other day from FCS. I looked at the price of the fins in Europe versus the U.S., and I was like, ‘Oh my God, it’s crazy,’” he said, adding that prices were significantly higher in the U.S. “So, hopefully it won’t affect us in that same way.”
Kate Robertson can be reached at kate@shop-eat-surf-outdoor.com.
