If you’ve ever driven on Interstate 25 past Greenwood Village, you’ve probably seen a two-story building with the eBags logo. Or you’ve read the sign that says eBags sponsors highway cleanup. (It contracts out that task.)
Yes, the Internet seller of every handbag, suitcase and backpack known to Netizens is headquartered in Greenwood Village.
Here are five things you don’t know about the company.
1. EBags turned 16 this month.
Peter Cobb, right, launched the eBags website March 1, 1999, after surviving a bout with cancer. That eBags emerged from the dot-com bust and continues to sell millions of bags a year is an achievement, especially considering some of the other big E companies of that era. Remember eToys and e-Stamp? Then again, the letter E has had some staying power with other dot-com survivors, including eBay and eTrade.
Nearly six years after selling its 10 millionth bag, eBags is now up to 22,734,265 bags sold as of late Tuesday afternoon).
2. Business changed dramatically after Sept. 11, 2001.
“People were cocooning and not going out. Our sales were up 40 percent in the two months after 9/11,” Cobb said. “So we focused less on travel and moved into backpacks, purses and everyday bags.”
3. Not much in the way of inventory.
For the most part, it processes orders on its website, but the bags actually are shipped from the manufacturers’ warehouses. EBags continues to operate with a minimal staff of about 110. It occupies just a portion of the Greenwood Village building with its logo. But it does carry inventory too — about 30 percent of its business is eBags-branded merchandise.
4. Hands-on boss.
EBags takes great pride in being one of the earliest companies to encourage — and receive — customer reviews. In fact, the company has a homepage ticker showing how many. But if someone gives a product a thumbs-down, some eBags employees — including Cobb — are notified. Most likely, you’ll hear from a customer-service representative.
5. It could have been a Silicon Valley startup.
As a startup looking for capital, eBags was approached by one investor willing to give them more than $1 million. The catch? The company would have to move to Silicon Valley. Cobb, obviously, said no. He started the company from his Greenwood Village home and can walk to work if he wanted to. “Denver is an amazing place of people who want to work hard and play hard,” he said.
