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Don't Fight Over New Clientele
Why we used dry cleaning to expand into existing clientele closets.
Dear Friends & Subscribers.
60% - 250%+ margins. Yup, let's talk dry cleaning today.
Most specifically, why we decided to add dry cleaning to our business.
You see when Jessica and I took over the business in 2015, all we offered was self-service and wash-and-fold.
We decided to analyze the business and figure out what service we could offer clients that they would want and need, and that would increase our revenue streams.
Our main purpose behind this was to insulate the business during downtimes — offseason, recession, an economic slowdown in the business.
While we were considering other revenue streams, dry cleaning came up in several conversations.
Most people told us NOT to do it. The equipment is too expensive, the items are too expensive if something gets lost or damaged it could cost $300, $400, or more to replace.
But our clients and potential clients kept asking us a single question: do you do dry cleaning?
Here we were trying to find new streams of revenue, asking ourselves how to grow, trying to find ways to insulate the business, and people were asking us if we provided a service.
We wanted more closet penetration — something I mentioned on Bob Nieman’s podcast Planet Laundry — and we were watching people bring their laundry to us and then take their dry cleaning somewhere else.
It seemed like a no-brainer.
If we could provide one place for people to bring their laundry and their dry cleaning, we could make more money.
So we decided to add dry cleaning to our service line.
Maybe you’re in the same place wondering if dry cleaning is the right move for your business.
We did face some challenges:
We didn’t know the industry
We had to learn the different equipment
We had to learn how to tag garments properly (control tags and color tags)
We had to train our team
We had to purchase all the equipment we needed
We had to build out a dry cleaning plan
One of the biggest challenges we faced, though, was deciding if we should build it out ourselves or partner with an experienced dry cleaning company.
We chose the latter.
After reaching out to different people in the industry and facing rejection because they didn’t want to share their contact or information, I started cold calling dry cleaning businesses to see if they were interested in working with us.
We were fortunate enough to find a dry cleaner willing to work with us.
It was a lot of work, but it was worth it.
Benefits of adding dry cleaning:
We got deeper closet penetration with our clients
We are able to service our clients better
We expanded into commercial dry cleaning which allowed us to work with many high-end fashion retailers
We get a lot of commercial dry cleaning referrals
It’s increased our revenue. The mark-up on dry cleaning is very high. Some mark-ups are in the hundreds of percentage points.
If you’re considering adding dry cleaning to your business, do some research.
Talk to people in the industry, ask your current clients, get some information on what it will take to start.
You may just find that it’s worth the investment.
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TL;DR:
Why we added dry cleaning to our business
Challenges of adding dry cleaning
Benefits of adding dry cleaning
Til next week.Waleed 🏴☠️
I would love to hear your thoughts on this week’s topic– let me know in this issue’s survey below. And for more on the garment care business, connect with me on Youtube and Linkedin!
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