Lapels Dry Cleaning, which has seen major growth in the past two years, delivers 100% environmentally friendly garment cleaning and repair services. According to Michael Eisner, vice president of franchise development, Lapels Dry Cleaning has taken garment care into the 21st century and has seen an upward trend in the amount of laundry-service customers. By Elice Morgenson
Lapels Dry Cleaning, which has seen major growth in the past two years, delivers 100% environmentally friendly garment cleaning and repair services. According to Michael Eisner, vice president of franchise development, Lapels Dry Cleaning has taken garment care into the 21st century and has seen an upward trend in the amount of laundry-service customers.
Eisner explained that the brand has seen significant growth due to its ability to adapt throughout the pandemic and provide an essential service for many. “Since the pandemic has started, we pivoted and grew our wash, dry, and fold laundry-services sector by 600%. We are becoming a home-services type of community. People love having services brought to their homes, and there is a growing demand for this convenience. Also, as people worked from home, there were fewer dry-cleanable goods, and laundry simply started to pile up. Parents were busy homeschooling and caring for their children, so for many people, this service was essential. We also changed how we charge for those services and now charge by the bag as opposed to by weight, making the entire process easier for everyone,” he said.
Whether a parent of a child with grass-stained pants or a business professional looking to get her suit altered, customers know that Lapels Dry Cleaning will do it all – and do it with planet-friendly, sustainable practices. The list of services Lapels offers its customers makes it a one-stop shop for all garment needs. Eisner explained: “We do not just do dry cleaning and laundry. We also offer shoe repair, tailoring, and alterations, wedding gown heirlooming, and leather and suede cleaning. These are extended services that we offer that make us a garment care center.”
For convenience, Lapels Dry Cleaning offers residential delivery, corporate delivery, and self-service lockers that are available 24/7 for all of its services, making it a simple go-to option for all laundry needs. Customers can schedule their orders, and with the brand’s app, they can access their account and other services with ease. The app ties into the point-of-sale system, offering users real-time information and providing text or email notifications when an order is ready.
“We have found that this technology is popular with a younger demographic that likes technology and allows them to operate on their own schedule, without having to worry about the hours the business is open,” Eisner said.
Lapels Dry Cleaning’s hub-and-spoke business model creates an efficient workflow and promotes an easy expansion of the business. The hub, a centralized processing center, handles all of the garment care and retail space for the company. The spokes are satellite stores, called dry stores, where garments are picked up or dropped off, which helps the store expand the reach of its services. Only one employee is necessary to operate the dry store, and this greatly increases the revenue for each location.
“The relationships we have developed through our brand help us keep the cost of goods down much lower than a traditional dry cleaner, and the technology we have developed for our machines makes them incredibly efficient,” said Eisner.
“Our focus is on growth,” he added. “By utilizing the tools and programs we have put together, we want to help our franchisees grow their business. That can be through extensive marketing, the value proposition that we provide, and the extensive list of services that they can provide.”
Elice Morgenson
Contact: lapelsfranchise.com, Michael Eisner, 781.829.8780