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People often ask why I chose the laundry industry to start my business. Many of them get surprised by my choice.
I quit my rewarding job and bid adieu to the telecommunication industry to start a dry clean and laundry company - Tumbledry.
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Here, I will share why laundry service inspired me so much that I took such a big step.
If you are also having doubts about why you should step into laundry service, my experience might help you. Here is a brief explanation of my story:
While going out for work or just running errands, I used to see clothes getting dry. They were almost everywhere, in all the courtyards, balconies and roofs which I passed by.
I noticed laundry service is a modern-day need. In the present hustle culture, nobody got time for it. And even if they have time, who likes to spend it washing clothes? This is where I got the idea of starting a laundry business.
From students to professionals, and housewives to bachelors, I realized people from all income groups need a dry clean and laundry service. But they don’t really have good options.
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The laundry and dry clean service were limited to local dry cleaners, dhobis and maids. None of them guarantees hassle-free and high-quality service. And, it was then I decided to use this need as a business opportunity.
I felt a business that can make people’s life easier might grow. Have you ever noticed the roots of leading brands like Zomato, Amazon, and Uber? They all cater to the daily needs of people. While food, travel, shopping, and healthcare sectors are already organized, laundry is still untouched by big brands. This made me research the prospects of the laundry business.
The fact that laundry is the 7th largest industry in India and 96% of it is unorganized encouraged me to study more.
Though I had a rough idea that it will work wonders, I still had to hit a sure shot. So, I questioned myself:
- Does laundry really fit in the criteria of an ideal business opportunity?
I tried to find the answer by analysing laundry as a business opportunity based on six factors. According to me, these are the aspects to judge a business idea before turning it into a business model:
- Lack of Competition
- Potential of growth
- Scope of uniqueness
- Financial prospects
- Comparison to traditional businesses
- Ease in operations
Everything that I came to know after in-depth research and multiple surveys is explained below. These are the reasons why I chose laundry for business and you should do it too.
Laundry is a niche with low competition
Starting a business should not be an impulsive decision. A lot of time, money and effort goes into it. Thus, it was crucial to make a well-calculated decision.
I carried out surveys in major big and small cities about the laundry needs and habits of common people. The results showed that no big business houses have ventured into this industry.
Maids, dhobis and local dry cleaners were in complete charge of cleaning and washing. With no national-level competition, the laundry industry had growth prospects in abundance. I was happy with the fact that I can grow my own brand in this industry. And the good part is that I have done it.
The laundry business has high growth potential
It was important to know whether people will actually pay for a service like that or not. So, my team carried out some surveys. People from all age and income groups were involved in those surveys. Students, office-goers, stay-at-home moms, and elderly people, all voted in favour of organized laundry service.
Yes, they all had different budget estimations for laundry owing to their income. But they were ready to spend money for a good quality service.
Our survey results were highly accurate. Laundry being an essential service, made Tumbledry a huge success. People welcomed the company wholeheartedly and made it a profitable venture within its first year of existence.
Another aspect I sensed was that even recession will not shake the laundry industry. I felt that people will never stop using a laundry service just like they never stopped using services from Zomato, Uber and other necessity-based brands.
It was a valid assumption. Tumbledry was started in mid-2019 and the pandemic hit the world within a few months. Many age-old businesses were set aback, but our laundry business kept booming despite the covid-19 global recession. This proved that the laundry business is recession-proof and it has high growth potential.
Due to this reason 30% of our franchise partners have already subscribed for the second area franchise.
Laundry can definitely give you a profitable business within 6 months.
High returns and huge profit margins
Analysis of any business idea would be incomplete without its financial evaluation. After calculating the investment required in a laundry business, I found that the profit margins can be huge.
Let me tell you this estimation was on-point.
In Tumbledry, we never did cost-cutting that could affect the quality of our service. We employed Swedish and American machinery. We use German cleaning solutions. Not only this, but we also invest in manpower training at a massive scale. Even after incurring all these costs, our profit margins have always been high. All our laundry stores are profitable. So much so that, today we are the largest dry clean and laundry chain PAN India.
Our existing franchise partners are extracting 84% ROI on their investment which is huge in itself. All of this is possible because the laundry industry ensures high returns in comparison to other industries.
Better than the age-old organized industries
Why no business house has turned this service that has huge growth potential into an organized business? This question made me compare laundry with other industries and age-old traditional businesses. I had to see whether it will rise or sink in.
What basic research reflected is as follows:
- No inventory: There is no major inventory required in the laundry and dry clean business. This straightaway means no issues of slow, dead or non-moving stocks will occur in future.
- No limits: Another factor I sensed was that there is no barrier to expansion. One can start from a small store covering a radius of 1-2 km. If the business works as per their expectations, they can spread the service in broader areas.
- No credits: The whole laundry and dry-cleaning business runs on an advance payment basis. No credit, hence, no collection processes are required.
All of this made it clear that the laundry business can do exceptionally well in comparison to the existing organized industries. As per Business Standard, the laundry industry is valued $35.83 billion in FY2020 in India. Thus, it can even outshine the current business giants from other popular industries.
Become a part of India’s largest laundry chain.
It is easy to run a laundry business
Unlike other traditional business practices, running a laundry store is easy. This is why Tumbledry along with all its franchise partners is doing great. A huge proportion of our franchise partners is of people who have never run a business earlier.
Our current franchise partners include young corporate employees, housewives, lawyers, teachers, etc. More than 30% of franchise partners of Tumbledry are women.
Running a franchise store for dry clean and laundry is easy. So, no matter what your profession or background is, you will never go wrong with a Tumbledry store. Especially when we are here to help you with all our expertise and knowledge in this industry.
How Tumbledry helps its franchise partners
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- Finding store location: Experts from Tumbledry visit target marketplaces and identify retail stores for the franchise partners.
- Setting up the store: Our in-house architecture team provides 3D images of different layouts including civil, plumbing, electrical and Vastu layouts.
- Right equipment selection & installation: We have global ties with international brands for sales, service, installation and after-sales services. Our professionals will install the machines and train the store staff on how to operate them.
- Technology support: Knowing that our partners might not want to invest in technology, we do it for them. They get mobile apps and CRM software for easy operations.
- Hiring and training the store staff: We hire the right people, train and certify them to operate franchise stores with perfection. Our demo and dry runs ensure that the staff works good enough to meet Tumbledry quality standards.
- Business development: We take care of the marketing aspects as well. Our experts help the franchise stores with offline marketing campaigns. And our in-house digital marketing team takes complete responsibility for online marketing.
Laundry industry had scope for unique brand element
I believe every business needs a unique element to stand out. And it was thrilling to see that the laundry industry can actually go through a revolution. The service had great scope for uniqueness in these three aspects:
A. Opaque functionality to 100% Transparency
My team carried out multiple surveys to know different facets of the laundry business. We studied why people don’t heavily rely on the available options. Their prime concern was opaqueness in the industry.
People didn’t know what happens to their clothes once they send them for laundry. They didn’t know what sort of chemicals, water and methods were used for cleaning and washing. This gave rise to a sense of doubt.
I came to a solution to bring live stores on board. We launched live stores. In these stores, the clothes and other articles are washed in front of customers. It felt great to bring such a drastic change at the ground level.
B. Labour-oriented to mechanism driven
Generally, even professional dry cleaners in India do not use advanced machines. The industry was majorly labour-oriented. It had massive growth prospects if only the approach could be changed. I thought we can make laundry a mechanism-driven industry.
We did it at Tumbledry. Instead of using age-old traditional methods and machinery, we imported the latest Swedish and American machines and top-rated cleaning solutions from Germany. Having machinery from trusted brands like LG and Electrolux enhanced the quality of laundry and improved credibility as a business as well. We saw great improvements in quality and productivity.
C. Pen-paper industry now runs on the web
Laundry service was more like a “pen-paper industry”. From taking orders to billing, everything was done on paper. I saw this as an opportunity for bringing difference.
By shifting the pen-paper methods to a sound digital infrastructure, we made laundry a modern-day service.
At Tumbledry, we offer web-based CRM for order management and mobile apps for smooth operations. We use two different apps for consumers and runners to keep operations uncomplicated.
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Tumbledry Success Story Till Now
Based on my analysis of the above-listed aspects, launching a laundry business seemed like a no brainer. So, I, along with my partner came up with Tumbledry in 2019. And today, in just 3.5 years of its existence our brand is running the largest laundry and dry-cleaning chain across India.
Within a few months of its start, the pandemic hit India hard. But it couldn’t shake us as a business entity. Tumbledry did not just survive pandemic but achieved new milestones every year. Marking new benchmarks of success frequently, we have 1100+ stores spread across more than 180 Indian cities. Here is some statistical data that will give an even better insight into how well we are doing:
- 95% franchise partners break even in the 3rd month
- 30% franchise partners subscribe for 2nd area franchise
- 30% of franchise partners are women
- 35% of franchise partners have started their first ever business with a Tumbledry outlet
We are esteemed with the fact that Research Market - the largest market research store in India considers us a leading laundry service provider. We have already built a strong base for our brand. Now, we are aiming to take it to newer heights. With an aim of having 1100+ stores across India by 2023 We are open to expanding our franchise networks.
Stepping into the laundry industry can be one of the best decisions you make. I and my partner sensed great growth prospects. Today, our company that started from scratch is all grown up in just two years. Our franchise network is expanding at a rapid pace too. So, book your target area for Tumbledry franchise before anyone else does.
You can start a Tumbledry franchise & get 80% ROI
Frequently Asked Questions on Laundry Franchise Business
You can become a franchise partner of Tumbledry. This is the easiest and most-rewarding way of stepping into the laundry business. You do not have to work hard for setting up your business because our team offers all-round support to all franchise partners we have.
Yes, dry clean and laundry stores are profitable. We have more than 1100+ stores in big and small cities as well. All of them are recording substantial profits. Tumbledry franchise stores are spread all across India. This shows that laundry stores gain profit irrespective of the place they are based in.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author. They do not necessarily purport to reflect the values or views of Tumbledry.
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