Founded in 2018 by Victor Tam with high school friends Hubert Chan and Daniel Shin, the retailer started off completely bootstrapped with founder money and no outside investment.
The Canadian travel and lifestyle brand was focused on selling high-quality, functional travel gear that was also beautiful, a category with competitors such as Away and Béis.
By the time COVID hit in 2020, Its co-founders had only hired two people. The world shut down and they quickly pivoted, designing and building the Monos clean pod, a portable sanitization wand that could disinfect small items like keys, wallets, phones. They launched the product during lockdown and earned $2 million from that product alone in 2020. Using that momentum to continue to market luggage and push the brand during a time where no competitors were doing anything.
In 2022, Monos achieved 300% growth and a $30 million series B funding round which allowed the brand to go beyond traditional travel bags and luggage and expand its own clothing line, Everywear, designing luxury loungewear for all-day comfort. Made with mid-weight natural fabrics, the gender-neutral and size-inclusive collection was produced in small batches in Vancouver.
Monos is trying to build the future of travel, and want to be a generational, authoritative brand in the space. Entering brick and mortar is part of the evolution to meet that goal. To continue expanding their footprint in the physical space to build that omnichannel experience.
As well as luggage, the website sells all complimentary accessories such as packing cubes, Cross-body and Belt bags, Weekend totes and many many more useful items in a selection of colours.
Remaining focused on its core values includes being conscious of its environmental impact. Monos is Climate Neutral Certified and a member of 1% for the Planet.
