Indian laundry service market is anticipated to grow at a double-digit CAGR on account of increasing working class population and rising disposable income. Laundry is a necessary and time-consuming task and number of local washer men have significantly reduced in the past, presenting an opportunity for laundry-based startups. These companies are hiring professional washer men and partners in order to cater to the needs of customers who want convenience and high quality cleaning of clothes. Also Laundry and Dry-Cleaning (LDC) service providers are switching towards sustainable practices so as to save water, energy, and reduce operational costs.
- Wash & Fold,
- Wash & Iron,
- Dry-Cleaning and
- Steam Iron
Online:
Internet has been a boon to the consumer industry. Starting from Food – Groceries – Utensils – Furniture-Automobiles-Consumer Electronics-Consumer Durables – Clothes-Laundry and you name anything it can be delivered online in a ‘jiffy’
The largest players in the e-commerce/food space are Amazon/Flipkart/Swiggy/Zomato
Off late laundry is also making its presence in the hyperlocal delivery segment
Laundry should be done according to the worth and the market cannot be captured by giving hefty discounts like the other giants in the consumer tech space.
The biggest challenge is the logistics which is the backbone of the online consumer space
Here is a small comparison between the Delivery Processes of an E-Commerce/Food and Laundry Companies:
- Delivery process(E-Commerce/Food Delivery)
E-Commerce:
Customer places an order – Company – Vendor/Fulfillment Centers – Customer
Food Delivery:
Customer places an order – Company – Restaurants/Cloud Kitchens - Customer
- Laundry delivery process:
Customer places an order – Company – Delivery Executive goes to the customer (pick-up the clothes) – Process the clothes (factory) - Delivery Executive deliveries the clothes back to the customer
*There will be a lot of sentiments attached to the clothes and that is the biggest risk
So the basic driving point here is the delivery guy should go twice to a customer’s place which is same as picking a defective product from a customer in the e-commerce context i.e., ‘return product’
· Normal pickup and delivery of clothes is as good as ‘returning a product in the e-commerce’. At the time of delivery, the customer will check the quality for around 20-30 min. If there is any quality issue they will return them back and again we should deliver. So it is as good as ‘returning a product twice in the e-commerce terminology
Comparison between E-commerce/Food/Laundry Deliveries:
As per industry standards for e-commerce segment the return rate percentages are-
- industry standards- 30%
- Flipkart- 15-20%,
- return percentage for amazon- 5.5%,
But when it comes to the online laundry industry it is 100% return all the time when compared with the e-commerce space
So, online laundry service cannot be compared to Flipkart, Amazon, Swiggy, Zomato, Uber, Ola or with anyone who provide their services online
Offline:
Coming to the offline segment, there are many dimensions in the offline segment-
- Standalone Stores
- Live Studios
- Laundromats
- Collaboration Stores etc.,
Standalone Stores:
A dry-cleaning store in which people can drop and pick up their clothes. The store acts as a drop point. A person will be situated in the store, who collects the customers clothes and again delivers them back to them when they come for the delivery.
Live Studios:
This is a new concept and it is at a very nascent stage in India. In this store we will be having a dry-cleaning machine where the processing is done in the store itself. The processing is done in front of the customer. The customer can have a firsthand experience on how his/her garments are dry-cleaned. Wash and Fold, Wash and Iron, Dry-Cleaning are the two types of services that are offered at the laundromats.
Laundromats:
Laundromats are an age old concept. People can self-launder their clothes here or can seek assistance from the executives present at the laundromat. Wash and Fold, Wash and Iron are the two types of services that are offered at the laundromats.
Collaboration Stores:
A LDC service provider collaborating with other company and opening a store. In this both the companies share the space and do their businesses accordingly. This also acts as a standalone store.
Therefore in a laundry industry offline and online sales are profitable. It’s upon the customers on how they want to use the service. In my view it’s better to be in both the channels and then scale your business according to the customer response in respective channels.
For more information,
People can get in touch with me in LinkedIN, Facebook, Instagram
PK,
PK Enterprises
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