Expanding services and profits

The days of the single service drycleaning business are fading. When customers walk into modern successful drycleaning businesses they will see displays of merchandise related to textile care, information on the range of services and promotions on a particular line such as shirts or flatwork.

The shop looks clean and welcoming and customers come in believing they will get a good, professional service.

To survive, a business needs to consider what services or products it can offer that will not only help to bring customers into the shop but also add to revenues.

When Andrew Formosa took over Speedy Drycleaners in Scotland four years ago, turnover was one-third of its present level.

He decided that to make a good living from the business he had to change its image and re-brand it as a professional textile care service.

He changed the name to the Textile Care Company to send the message out to customers that the focus was no longer just on drycleaning but on a full professional care service.

Trained staff

Staff were trained up over a year and the business became an NVQ qualified drycleaner. This allowed Formosa to promote the business as such both in the local press and in the chamber of commerce. It also enabled him to increase prices by as much as 10 - 50% on some products and gave staff the confidence to charge these higher rates.

Customers were offered a money-back guarantee if they weren’t 100% satisfied with the service they had received but staff are well trained and this offer has only been taken up once or twice in the whole time it has been available.

The training also allowed The Textile Care Company to offer a special stain removal service at a premium price. Formosa believes it is important to have a clear business plan and coherent strategy. “With the business plan, you need to actively consider increasing volume and the avenues you can take to do that,” he says.

The business is near Glasgow, and Formosa promotes it by offering an office kiosk to large companies such as Morgan Stanley, which has around 800 employees in the city. On a set day at lunchtime, The Textile Care Company sets up a table where staff can hand in their drycleaning and pick up their finished order.

Another drycleaner who is making his mark on the public is Bournemouth-based Matthew Barker from the Barker Group. Barker started out as a professional launderer and moved into drycleaning in 1995. Following a factory fire in 2005, he began to focus more on the drycleaning side of the business and began to expand this by actively promoting a specialist laundry service with his drycleaning shops.

Barker promotes the laundry service’s specialism in flatwork, including table linen and bedlinen, as customers are less able clean and finish these at home – although his shops also offer shirt and other laundry services.

He says that with just one exception, his shops showed growth in 2009. One branch increase its business by 20% through actively marketing its laundry work.

Barker has plans for further expansion of the laundry and other textile care related services, including carpet cleaning and repairs and alterations. “Drycleaning is in decline and it won’t survive without doing these things,” Barker says.

“We need to change our service provision and make drycleaning more visible to the public. The industry needs to smarten itself up, to have smarter shop fronts, to build a better image for itself.”

Each of Barker’s stores is expected to earn at least 10% of its business from repairs and alterations.

The group employs two tailoresses but Barker says he would ideally have one in each shop, visible from the front window so the service can be easily seen from the street. The shops also offer a range of other services including carpet cleaning, hiring out Rug Doctor machines and selling the associated cleaning materials to customers – another simple strategy that offers little risk to drycleaners and can bring in extra cash.

Andrew Collins from Crisp Dry Cleaners in Dublin is another advocate of the Rug Doctor. “I purchased a new machine a couple of years ago and it had paid for itself in the first four months,” Collins says. “I have now leased another two machines and they are now all out being used.”

The machines are leased directly from Rug Doctor which takes responsibility for any repairs and damage. The drycleaner acts as an agent so carries little liability and the investment is minimal. The machines can also be promoted as suitable for cleaning upholstery.

Marketing methods

Collins markets the services he offers in several ways. An LED ticker-tape screen in the reception area lets customers know the special deals that are on offer each day.

He also displays posters in the shop to show customers what is available. He advertises in the local community newspaper every month and also gives talks to schools. He discusses everyday items such as hangers and explaining how to use them in a more environmentally friendly way.

Collins uses Dormer hangers, produced by Dormer Ireland from 70% recycled materials.

The hangers can be re-used and customers are offered an incentive to bring them back. This not only has environmental benefits but can help the drycleaner to make further savings.

So far, Collins says he has been able to cut down the number of hangers he purchases by around 50% – and he hopes to be able to reduce the number even further as more and more customers take up the incentive. Some of his customers like the hangers so much, they have also begun to buy them from him.

The hangers are on display on the counter at Crisp Dry Cleaners, along with a range of other textile care and clothing-related products that customers can buy. These include suit covers, duvet storage bags, spot carpet cleaning products and aromatic sachets for drawers.

“These are all products that go with the main core of the business,” says Collins. He keeps the displays stocked up at all times so they look appealing but generally only has a around 5 – 10 of each item in stock at any time.

A good relationship with his supplier, Dormer Ireland, makes this possible.

Dormer provides customers with a starter pack of five items and drycleaners can replenish stocks as and when they are needed.

Sales director Peter Corrigan believes that point-of-sales product displays can be successful but they need to be placed where they can be easily be seen by the customer, as they are often an impulse buy rather than a planned purchase.

Dormer supplies a range of drycleaning and other products to drycleaners. In addition to standard drycleaning consumables, it also provides Rug Doctor chemicals, drycleaning bags and storage boxes for wedding dresses.

The wedding dress boxes are acid-free and have a display windows to allow the bride to look at her dress from time to time. Drycleaners can attract extra revenue by offering these boxes when customers bring wedding dresses for cleaning. They can be marketed so potential customers in the area know the service is available.

Know your customer

Local knowledge is a key to success believes Corrigan. Drycleaners need to know who their potential customers are, what they need and who, if anyone, in the area is also providing the service.

For example, some of Corrigan’s customers with businesses in popular horse riding areas specialise in waterproofing horse blankets. Those situated in areas of where outdoor activities are popular could specialise in cleaning and waterproofing jackets and other outdoor gear.

Corrigan advises that it is very important that shops find out whether customers within a five-mile radius know about its services. In September Dormer held a “Beat the recession” workshop for its drycleaning customers in the UK and Ireland. After the workshop, one of the delegates told Corrigan that he had canvassed people in the area and discovered that many didn’t know about his drycleaning business and what it offered. He is now going to start marketing its services.

Popular service

Key cutting is a service often offered by drycleaners. John Wilkin of key cutting machine supplier SKS recommends it as a good way of increasing revenue. “You buy the blank keys at 10p – 40p each and you can sell them at £2 – 8 each, so the margins are high,” he comments.

Key cutting machines vary in price and quality but for drycleaners Wilkin recommends a dual purpose machine that sells at just over £1,000 and includes key stock and tools. “It only takes 5 – 10 minutes to learn how to cut the keys,” he says. “The hardest thing to learn is to identify the different keys.” That comes with experience, he adds.

To help, SKS provides books and a comparison disc, as well as telephone backup. There are a range of counter accessories that can be offered with the keys to add extra revenue.

These include key buddies, cartoon heads for keys, key rings and little torches.

Services and accessories that can be seen by the customer either from the street or when they walk into the shop are ideal for providing some extra revenue. Daniel Brown from Master Cleaners is an agent for Colibri anti-moth products. He comments: “Drycleaners often forget that they have a prime high street location and therefore an opportunity to make extra cash.”

Brown started selling Colibri products a few years ago and says they can provide a good return for the right drycleaner in the right location.

The handmade, eco-friendly sachets can be sold for at least double the trade price and bring in on average at least £1,000 profit a year.

Some top-end drycleaners bring in over three times that as they are able to charge more for the product. Brown says the Colibri range is most suited to upmarket drycleaners who have customers that are prepared to pay for a quality product.

There are many ways that a drycleaner can make their business more profitable. Each needs to think about the type of services that will be best suited to their own situation.

Raik Ahmet from Clean Supply, the packaging and consumables company, offers some simple advice: “Do a self-assessment: what am I lacking, what am I good at and how do my customers perceive me? Does it suit my area and my local demographic? Can my customers sense my commitment to them?

“Be proactive, sound out new avenues for business and approach local businesses that might need your services. Brand your business so customers can identify it and differentiate you from your competitor.

“Show that you care and will go that extra distance,” he adds. “Personalised packaging can say much more than just your name and your phone number.”