Gaining Tidy Profits in the Laundry Business via Franchising

For a long time, we can see a large laundry service market in the form of Dhobis who are given clothes for washing. With the development of the industry and changing customer needs, the market has moved to a more organised sector where washing, drying, folding as well as ironing are options. This organised structure has a tremendous franchising opportunity.

Why is Laundry Franchising a Great Option?

The existing laundry industry in India is growing with an expected CAGR of 4%. There is a large market to serve this market and a few good players in the industry. The customer targets working-class people who don’t want to spend time on washing and ironing clothes. Another set of customers is the students.

In the current situation where hygiene and safety have gained importance, there is a good shift of customers from household maids to branded laundry services to ensure safety and cleanliness. With convenience being a major factor, there is a shift of customer from the unorganised to organised laundry.

UClean : A Laundry Service Brand

UClean is one of the largest and fastest-growing laundry chains in India with over 240 franchises across 50 cities in just 3 years. Any business that evolves keeping in mind customer requirement grows. UClean has the policy to revolve around customers delight.

UClean was started as a DIY cleaning station, but eventually evolved itself to a pick and drop service. Its 95% of customers obtain the pick and drop facility, 5% are those who come to the store to pick and drop and only 1% are the ones who are of Do-It-Yourself phenomena. UClean is open to what the customer wants. It has joined hands with Chemdry to serve the customers on their demand in service of cleaning carpets and sofas.

Franchising with UClean

UClean has bundled franchisees where a single franchisee owns two or more units. Each franchise is different in its way. Uclean calls few of its franchisees as early adopters. These franchisees are the ones who are receptive to ideas and are eager to work with customers and try new experiments. These franchisees have opted for idea testing and brainstorming. They come up with their feedback. It is these franchises that give good feedback, become the brand ambassador and try to reach and teach the new franchisees about the new ideas developed. They share their experience with them and make them understand the significance.

The investment required for the UClean franchise is about Rs 13 to 14 lakhs that includes the cost of fabricating and equipment and machinery (steam iron table and a laundry machine).

Expansion Plans

UClean is looking forward to expanding in many Tier I, II and III cities. It has seen a growing demand in tier II and tier III cities. Cities like Gorakhpur, Jamshedpur, and Dhanbad have already been approaching the company.

The brand is also open to international markets. It has already tied up in Nepal and looking forward to business with Bangladesh and Sri-Lanka. The company aims at reaching the MENA region internationally in the coming years. It has been studying the markets for 6 to 8 months. 

UClean is further approaching Qatar, Oman and UAE because the existing market penetration is not good enough. It is also reaching out to certain parts of Africa, including Nigeria, Kenya and Zimbabwe.

UClean is very keen on franchisees that are focused on customer satisfaction. If in any situation it seems that a franchisee does not have a good past concerning this, it does not go ahead with the partnership.

Edited By: Vaishnavi Gupta