Wassup launches 1st laundromat in Chennai India

Laundry service provider Wassup recently announced the launch of its first ‘laundromat’ store in the Indian city of Chennai. Equipped with washing machines, dryers and ironing facilities, the laundromats will allow customers to walk in and get their clothes processed as they watch.

According to R Balachandar, co-founder & CEO of Wassup: “About 97 per cent of laundry business in the country is in the unorganised sector, but the organised sector is expected to grow by 30 per cent in the next 10 years.  We aim at opening 25 outlets in Chennai and 200 outlets in other cities in the coming year.”

Acute water shortage, lack of space to dry washed clothes, lack of time for working professionals are some of the factors that drive the people in urban centres to seek laundry services, according to Durga Das, co-founder and MD, at Wassup. “This is a developing sector in our country and recent developments seem to indicate a huge interest from prospective franchisees“,  Das added. As part of its expansion plan, the company offers ‘franchise owned and operate models’ for prospective franchisees to set up neighbourhood laundromats. Setup in 2011, the company provides on-demand laundry services to customers in five cities, washed over 60 million pieces and is major laundry partner for leading hospitality brands like Taj, Oberoi, Marriotts and Sheraton.