Zapping stains et al, premium dhobis are raking it in

Every inch of 5aSec, an 800-square-feet garment care store — or the so-called “super premium laundry” — at upmarket Pali Naka, a busy junction in Mumbai’s posh suburb Bandra, buzzes with action. In a section just behind the apparel ironing area, a female employee is seen treating a garment with some nifty hand-held equipment.

“It’s a laser gun. We use it to remove stubborn stains. Hi-tech processes like this mark our entire fabric-care approach. They make the garment look brand new,” says Suresh D Bhatia, MD of SB FabCare which operates 5aSec, the French textile care brand.

Bhatia is the Indian master franchisee of 5aSec which has three stores in India. It launched 18 months ago, and is part of the new breed of fabric-care stores such as Pressto, Fabric Spa and Wardrobe that cater to the newly affluent Indians, a class that boasts expensive branded garments and designer wear.

Garment care experts say such clothes need special cleaning to ensure their characteristics remain intact and no damage is done to the fabric.

Hence, where a neighbourhood dhobi would charge Rs15-40 for a shirt, fabric-care operators command over Rs100.

“The pricing mechanism followed worldwide is: cost of the garment divided by 10 or 15. But in India, it is cost divided by 40. So, if you have a Rs40,000 saree, the wash cost would be Rs1,000-1,500. But, if the saree is priced Rs1,000, the wash cost would be Rs150-odd,” said Ullas Kamath, joint MD of Jyothy Laboratories (operators of the Fabric Spa chain).

The firm researched laundry services in India and found that three aspects stand out. First, easy wash items are usually washed at home. Second, bed covers, pillow covers, quilts, blankets and curtains are seen as difficult to wash at home. Third, expensive sarees, suits, embroidered clothes, designer apparel, leather garments, jackets and accessories (handbags, soft toys, shoes) cannot be washed at home at all and hence are given for dry cleaning or to similar specialists.

Some households may use fabric-care services just two or three times in a quarter while others would do likewise in a week. “Consumers said they would prefer experts to care for the second and third categories,” said Kamath.

As experts always come at a price, specialist fabric-care stores position themselves in the premium price bracket. Just like new-age cafes in metros and cities do. In fact, the fabric-care business, which has been taking shape since 2008, will be the next ‘coffee chain story’ of India, say industry experts.

“Spending power, emergence of an affluent middle class comprising up to 100 million households, increasing penetration of premium apparel brands are fuelling growth of fabric-care businesses,” says Esther Lennaerts, executive chairperson of the Pressto chain of specialist dry cleaners.

A typical fabric-care store calls for an investment of Rs2 crore. Breakeven is assured after 12-16 months with 20-30% annual growth, 50% gross margins and 20% net margins.

In the last three years, Pressto has grown from five to 21 stores and is targeting over 100 stores within a couple of years. SB FabCare (5aSec) is gradually increasing its presence and will be looking at the franchise route for further store additions. Jyothy Fabricare, the market leader with 132 fabric-care stores, has set a goal of reaching 500 stores by 2015.