Crumpler is Back to “Former Glory”, Returns to its Artistic Roots

The bag retailer has been acquired by the founder, David Roper and his daughter, Virginia Martin. The father-daughter team beat out more than 60 expressions of interest and bids from 20 parties.

Roper and Martin applied for A Deed of Company Arrangement, better known as a DOCA, which guarantees the payment of staff entitlements and a return to creditors.

Crumpler was founded in 1995 alongside Will Miller and Stuart Crumpler, but Roper left the business in 2014 to pursue a career in the music production industry. In August 2021, Crumpler filed for voluntary administration, with owners, Crescent Capital Partners, citing pandemic-related store closures as the catalyst. According to Roper, the family couldn’t let the business ‘go down the tube’.

“My family were buoyed by so many calls of encouragement to have another crack and we couldn’t bare to see Crumpler go down the tube,” said Roper of the news. “We had so much fun running the company for 20 years building a great brand on the back of some classic products and incredible culture.”

With this return, the duo will bring back the original logo, and plans to return to its ‘artistic roots’. Moving forward, Crumpler’s operations will be small, with a Fitzroy workshop opening so the team can create bags once again.

“With the world coming out of hibernation and cycling booming the timing couldn’t be better. We’ve inherited a much smaller business, but that’s cool – it gives us room to consider what’s next. We are going to start making bags again in Melbourne at The Fitzroy workshop store,” said Roper. “The original logo is definitely coming back and no doubt we will have a lot of fun returning to our artistic roots.”

Roper’s daughter, Virginia Martin, is no stranger to the retail industry. She launched her own fashion label, búl, in Fitzroy in 2010, but has been within the retail scene since 1998. Of the purchase, Martin said she’s back to be back where it all began. “Starting as a retail assistant in 1998 in the Fitzroy store are some of the fondest memories I have,” she shared.

“Watching Crumpler grow inspired me and gave me the insight to go out and create any own label búl. After what seems like a lifetime since the humble beginnings of the first store I am so excited to be back to help Dave return Crumpler to its former glory,” she explained.

The e-commerce landscape is changing. With a Power Retail Switched On membership, you get access to current e-commerce revenue and forecasting, traffic levels, average conversion rate, payment preferences and more!