Clothes storage inspired by camping

You’d expect the occupants of a tent might wake to the sound of bird song and perhaps the scent of pine. But the occupants of this particular “tent” will likely see a bedroom when the door un-zips. That’s because this is really a solitary wardrobe and the occupants are trousers and shirts. It’s VUKU, a low price, high quality wardrobe that’s inspired by smart design for campers.

The product development team wrestled with the challenge of offering a quality solitary wardrobe at an affordable price. Every prototype left them unhappy because it compromised on one thing or another. “We could’ve created an affordable clothes rail with some storage below, but to really be true to what customers are looking for we needed to make a completely enclosed and dust-free clothes storage solution,” says product developer Mark D’Souza. “And, for me, the most important part was to make a product that was quality, too.” They started over. That’s when a new idea struck. “A wardrobe is just enclosed space,” says Mark. “And what does that well?” Tents.

Working with suppliers

The VUKU team headed to a factory in Vietnam that had experience from tent design. This shows in several VUKU features. For instance, the skeleton is made of fibreglass tubes, like the ones you see in tents. They become more stable when you put weight on them—an ideal feature for a hanging wardrobe. And though VUKU is small, you can fit four to six winter jackets in it. The entire wardrobe simply clicks together too, no tools required. Just like a tent.

Meeting customer expectations

For Mark and his teammates, creating an affordable product that lives up to all the customer’s expectations was always the goal. “I’m super happy with the outcome because we have something really strong. There’s absolutely no comparison in terms of strength and durability.”