Dry Cleaners have taken a big hit in the past few years, and not just because of the pandemic. In a recent report by Bloomberg, dry cleaners in the US have been on a decline for almost two decades! This appears to be a similar trend globally.
But why has there been this steady decline? One of the main reasons is the change in workwear in the offices. Gone are the days of pressed shirts and suits, instead opting for more comfortable and stylish clothes that don’t need to be dry cleaned.
Bloomberg has also highlighted the environmental restrictions that have been placed on dry cleaning businesses could also have had an adverse effect on their business too.
One London-based stand-alone Dry Cleaners has managed to turn the trend, and has managed to increase incremental revenue. This has been through offering sneaker cleaning to their existing client base as an add-on service.
With strong word-of-mouth advocacy and social media support, this Dry Cleaner has seen a significant annual revenue increase since introducing sneaker cleaning.
By using the w’air device at their business, they have also managed to reduce the average cleaning time by about 30% (a cost save of c£4 for each clean) and are able to clean a much wider range of materials (eg deep mesh) than any other alternative methods.
By pivoting to sneaker cleaning, and offering this service alongside their traditional dry cleaning services, they have moved with their customers’ changing lifestyles.