Meet the GBPAP18’s outstanding PTC showcases: SAS Palais (France)

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.

SAS Palais (France) – The Special Award for Extraordinary Business Development at GBPAP18 – Retail Textile Cleaning.

Evolving, learning and adapting are compulsory in order to grow

The owner Laurence Drouin has set off to conquer the Toulon’s Professional Textile Cleaning market in France. In 2013, she takes back the family company and in December 2016, she opened a new site, “Palasse Pressing and Launderette Assistée”. A concept that earned the Innovation Awaard at the Jet Expo in Paris in November 2017 in the “local shops” category, during the French
pre-selection phase for the Global Best Practices Awards Program 2018.

“The dimension of services is essential because that’s what makes us stand out from the competition” says the owner. Sewing, shoemaking, ozone box, resale of detergents and products to individuals, collection and delivery for the segment of the B2B on which it operates. The company has also great references: two major hotels in Toulon, Arsenal, La Croix Rouge , the ITM base of Intermarchés de Brignoles, TPM (community of communes) and more. “Evolving, adapting are compulsory in order to grow and always learn”, insists Laurence, who has now brought her brand in a new dimension and created the “au de flacon” network, seeking a development in various areas: public administration, water damage, fires, work clothes, shoes, horse blankets. She has been managing specialist training in dry cleaning for 4 years in collaboration with Electrolux.

 

The human resource, a key factor for the company’s evolution

A core element of the company’s values is the development of employees’ skills. Regarding the recruitment process, they try to hire people who are skilled in the trade but they also give a chance to those who are simply motivated and have the desire to learn. The job is overall complex but extremely interesting. The management takes care to carry out all the trainings useful to the proper functioning of the operation, but also takes care of the well-being of our employees. That’s apart from the safety measures. For instance, in France, the companies that have more than 50 employees must maintain a register of public health and environmental alerts.

Impeccable customer service

State-of-the-art technology to increase sustainability

SAS Palais’ machines were all changed in 2014 and 2016 in order to become more ECO responsible for the wellbeing of the employees, client and environment as a whole. The chemical materials are controlled annually by a specialized company but they are also controlled by the management in order to optimize the functioning of the machines that are part of the entire technical portfolio.
The electrical installations are controlled every year by a specialized company. SAS is also using a so-called “green” electricity in partnership with ENGIE. The machines do not stay in standby when the pressings are closed in order to reduce the overall energy consumption. In the same line, the stores are equipped with ECO lighting responsibly i.e. they are illuminate with LED lights. In order to produce less waste, the organization commands the cleaning products and dispenser In larger quantities, in order to reduce waste in terms packaging. They recycle the hangers, shoulder
pads and foam, wrapping bags and cans with the help of our customers who are very sensitive to recycling.

 

Business Model’s clear structure

The business model is based on classic services of dry cleaning and laundry but also on innovative services of assisted laundry. These benefits are expanded by a specific ozone cleaning that allows the company to differentiate among all the other pressings businesses in the region. The management even formalized the business model through a Canvas model in order to facilitate the very
visual representation of each strategic point. This Canvas matrix consists of 9 blocks:
• key partners;
• key (including intellectual) resources
• key activities;
• cost Structure;
• value proposition (service or product);
• client relationships;
• channels (communication and distribution);
• revenue streams;
• targeted clientele.

SAS is very active on social networks (Facebook, LinkedIn), communicating the special offers designed for the clients, as well as the most important achievements of the company. The  organization is also part of the French DryCleaning Federation (FFPB) as well as within the Union of Traders and Artisans (U2P).

At the end of the GBPAP18 Event in Milan (October, 19th, 2018), Ms. Laurence Drouin, CEO of SAS Palais, told CINET: “Thank you for this great reward and this beautiful adventure. We are even more motivated for our projects.”