Corona Impact on Businesses. Shutdown for the First Time in 97 Years for a Norwegian Company

The Corona pandemic continues to affect the PTC sector in all parts of the world. In Norway, the Dry Cleaning and Laundry Association (NRV) has initiated member interviews to find out how they have been affected by the pandemic and how they look at the future.  Knut Skjold Jensen from Perfect Dry Cleaning in Tromsø is one of the respondents. Jensen: “My family has run this dry cleaning business since 1923 and this is the first time ever we have had to shut down in our almost hundred-year history”.

The company lost a lot of money and they anticipate a demanding year is yet to come. After the reopening they adjusted the operation according to advice of the Norske Laundry’s Quality Supervision Authority (NVK) and Norwegian Dry Cleaning and Laundry Association. The shop has also been remodelled to comply with infection control measures.

Jensen: “Customers respect that we want a maximum of two customers in the store at one time. We also have measures such as disinfecting hands and cash registers. Apart from that, we have ended the promising to finish clothes by a certain date. We now collect clothes until we have enough to run a machine financially. Fortunately, customers have accepted this so far. We intend to make this change permanent, to enable a more realistic operation”.