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City-based laundry service provider,Wassup on Thursday announced the launch of its first ‘laundromat’ store at Chamiers Road with the objective of bringing complete laundry services to the neighbourhood.
The company also announced that Wassup will be the sponsor and official laundry partner of Chennaiyin Football Club (CFC). “Wassup and CFC have a lot in common. Both are rising stars in their respective field,” said R Balachandar, co-founder & CEO of Wassup.
Laundromats
Equipped with washing machines, dryers and ironing facilities, the laundromats will allow customers to walk in with their used clothes and get it processed right in front of their eyes.
According to Balachandar, unlike food delivery business which has many players like Swiggy and Zomato, laundry business does not have any organised player although it has 1.1 crore dhobis across the country.
“About 97 per cent of laundry business in the country is in the unorganised sector,” Balachandar said, adding that the organised sector is expected to reach 30 per cent in the next 10 years.
Laundry services
Wassup, which offers both laundry and dry cleaning services, will provide washing and ironing services at a price range starting from ₹15 apiece, deliverable within 48 hours. It also offers home delivery option, besides accepting orders on call or mobile app.
Wassup intends to open 25 outlets in Chennai and 200 outlets in other cities in the next one year. “Dhobis who are becoming extinct with the advent of washing machines are given an opportunity to work in Wassup,” Balachandar added.
Acute water shortage, lack of space to dry washed clothes, lack of time for working professionals are some of the factors that drive the people in urban centres to seek laundry services, said Durga Das, co-founder and MD, Wassup.
“This is a sunrise sector and if recent developments are any indicator, huge interest from prospective franchisees is foreseen, “ Das added.
Expansion plan
As part of its expansion plan, the company also offers ‘franchise owned and operate model’ for prospective franchisees with an investment of ₹17-20 lakh and a 300 sq ft space required to set up neighbourhood laundromat.
Setup in 2011, Wassup has provided on-demand laundry services to over 3 lakh customers in five cities and washed over 60 million pieces and also a laundry partner for leading hospitality brands like Taj, Oberoi, Marriotts, Sheraton, Radisson and others.
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