ETHstudentsinventtheworld'sfirstself-servicewardrobeforshoppingcenters
Overloaded with the coat in your right hand, the shopping bag in your left arm and your daughter clinging to your index finger. An image that everyone knows, e.g. from the Christmas shopping season. This is in the past now! The startup Zippsafe, founded by two ETH students, installed the world's first high-tech self-service wardrobes at the shopping centers belonging to Migros cooperative Gäupark, Shoppyland, Westside, Panoramacenter and Zentrum Oberland in the Bern area in the beginning of November. During the winter season, Zippsafe will offer shopping center customers the opportunity to lock away jackets and bags free of charge for carefree shopping.
Carlo Loderer, co-founder of Zippsafe, explains: "As the organizer of New Year's parties, I've realized that a clever solution to store clothes and bags was missing thus far. I was always dependent on the cloakroom staff and despite the fee things were not safe. Once my jacket was lost." In almost two years of development, in cooperation with his childhood and college friend David Ballagi, Zippsafe, the world's first anti-theft self-service wardrobe, was created. "Zippsafes are intelligent locker bags made with integrated alarm sensors. They are lighter, more mobile and also better suited for clothes than lockers." Carlo Loderer continues.
Usage is very simple. 15 zippered bags are attached to a frame. The clothes are hung on retractable hangers and pushed back. Bags and rucksacks can also be placed inside. Then the Zippsafe bag is closed with a zipper and locked by choosing a self-selected PIN code using a keyboard. Like this, items are kept safe.
A first test run of Zippsafe in December 2015 at the Westside Center in Bern was very successful. "Zippsafe has caused a stir and has been briskly used. To study and understand how people use the system, I spent whole afternoons at a nearby café watching the action. Several times, attentive people came to my spot at the café and congratulated me on the idea" Carlo Loderer says with a lauth.
Zippsafe has big plans: Numerous interested parties have already been acquired at international trade fairs in Germany and abroad. However, David Ballagi, co-founder of Zippsafe, does not allow himself be carried away to reverie. "Before we can entertain the idea of going abroad, we have to understand how the systems are received by users and how we can improve them if necessary. But the signs are very positive. We also see other markets such as cinemas and convention centers as possible Zippsafe locations".
About Zippsafe
Carlo Loderer and David Ballagi, both mechanical engineers, founded the company ATANA Engineering GmbH in 2015 (Zippsafe AG since January 2017) for the development of Zippsafe. The team now consists of seven people. The idea was well received at various startup competitions, won the Entrepreneurial Wave Best Innovation Award and made it to the finale of the prestigious startup competition Venture Kick.
