Meet the GBPAP18’s outstanding PTC showcases: Nr. One Himchistka (Russia)

For the coming period, we will present you week by week, the most outstanding PTC showcases that were officially nominated for The Global Best Practices Awards Program 2018. The profiles of these companies are also present in the WOPCOM platform, which you can access here.

Nr. One Himchistka (Russia) – Special Awards for Extraordinary Business Development at GBPAP18 – Retail Textile Cleaning.

A success story of constant business growth in the heart of Moscow

Nr. One is a group of companies that represents a stable and well-functioning model of business process organization. In fact, the business entity owns 2 factories with 1500 m2 in area and office premises located in a business center. The history of the company started with the idea of creating the first premium dry cleaning shop on Kutuzovsky Prospekt, one of Moscow’s most important boulevards. In 10 years, the company opened more than 30 collection units and they don’t intent to stop growing. Over 50,000 customers are serviced and many others have also benefitted from the expertise of the Nr. One Himchistka’s experts.

Furthermore, the group has its own fleet of vehicles with a registered trademark to enhance the brand awareness. Besides the above facilities, the company took on long-lease 20 premises for dry clean outlets equipped and decorated in accordance with the relevant brand requirements. The company’s main concept is to free its customers from the worries associated with activities such as washing, ironing, cleaning, and give them precious time for themselves and their loved ones.

The main elements of the services portfolio consists of: dry cleaning and wet cleaning of textiles, cleaning of fur garments, manual cleaning of footwear and handbags (including products made of exotic leather and rare expensive materials), dry cleaning of leather and suede products, footwear repair and renewal of any complexity, laundry, ironing, clothes repair, fabrication of draperies, dry cleaning of carpets, dry cleaning of products with down-pointed filler, as well as fur and leather storage. A pick-up and delivery service during 24-hours is available for the comfort of the customers.

A high-performant team, the number one priority for Nr. One Himchistka

The company considers the development of a qualified, high-performant and cohesive team to be the primary goals of its personnel policy, so the human resource is of a high importance for the group.

There are 192 people working at Nr. One. The recruitment is made in accordance with the Russian Federation’s Labor Law. Nr. One has developed a system of encouragement and work motivation for the employees on performance-based consideration. In order to maintain effective work and provide high quality services, the management sends the employees to qualification upgrading courses at a specialized college issuing relevant certificates and diplomas. Employees visit exhibitions, as well as domestic and foreign working visits with the purpose of studying new equipment, chemicals and new technologies.

Continuity of generations is a characteristic of Nr. One, as the team creates a warm atmosphere of trust that inspires everyone. The business has also a separate unit for internal training of the staff. The advice and practical section is engaged in creation of corporate library (instructions, methodical material and other), drawing up programs of development for employees, as well as “cultivation” of the required staff among applicants without experience in the dry-cleaning industry.

Excellent finishing is a key for a perfect service

The sustainability and the care for environment go hand in hand

For Nr. One, the mandatory condition for reducing solvent consumption is keeping the proper drying time and cleaning the air filters after every operating cycle. Keeping the drying time is also essential because solvent residues stay on under-dried items and evaporate into the environment, which causes not only air pollution and/or  harm to human health but also the excessive solvent use. The most efficient chemicals and intensifiers produced are used and they are environmentally safe products that enhance the drying quality without damaging the environment, items or equipment. The load regime of equipment is tightly controlled according to process ow diagrams elaborated for various range of items.

An important rule for conservation of consumptive qualities of commodities and materials is the creation of proper storage conditions and control over their safety. Therefore, the warehouse is a dry, clean and well-ventilated structure without any foreign odours. The proper temperature on the premises is maintained through air exchange intensity changes created by operation of the ventilation system, airing and/or regulation of heating appliance operation. The warehouse racks provide enough storage space for commodities and materials and access to the stores. The premises are adequately lit for reading any warehouse documents and marking the boxes, containers, bottles etc.

Liquid chemicals are stored in leak-proof containers or bottles, bulk chemicals are stored in bags and barrels. Different groups of chemicals are placed on the racks separately in accordance with their intended use: chemicals for dry-cleaning, aqua cleaning and laundry, machine wash chemicals, accessories and associated goods. Each dry-cleaning machine is equipped with a tray and an additional tray for maintenance of distillers.

Innovation and intensive communication

Nr. One does its best to adhere to the PTC’s global trends of business and services. Therefore, they’ve updated the equipment of factories to more modern, productive and environmentally friendly and have also mastered new methods of manufacturers of preparations, solvents of chemical cleaning and chemical products to clean a new range of products appearing at the market. This only a part of the recent optimized logistics service, that makes it possible to save money significantly and to comply with strict deadlines.

The corporate website was updated in order to increase the interaction with the customers. Nr. One is present in exterior advertising, billboards, advertising rolls. Internet advertising (context advertising, targeting and native advertising in social networks Facebook, Instagram) also plays an important role in order to increase the reach of incentive promotions, discounts and other types of advertising activities. The company pays a particular attention to the adequate discount system building aimed at the increase of the loyalty level of existing customers and attracting new ones. They provide social discounts to veterans, students, large families, etc.