The unstoppable growth of the Indian laundry segment owes much to the mushrooming of laundromats across the country, and franchising has been the chosen channel of growth for all major laundromat chains. According to estimates, there must be anywhere between 1,500-2,000 laundromats operational in India at the moment, of which around 80% are franchises.
Franchising allows any brand to expand its footprint across multiple geographical locations in parallel, which is always challenging to do purely through company-operated stores.
However, laundry franchising in India is relatively new. Hence, it is prone to blunders and potentially fatal mistakes for the brand as well as the franchisee owner. To minimise this risk and to ensure smooth sailing, there are a few things that all laundry brands should consider. In the following pages, two laundromat franchise owners share their wisdom.