Chennai, 15 th Nov 2018: WASSUP, pioneers of Chennai’s first neighbourhood Laundromat concept, today announced the inauguration of their first laundromat in Chennai’s store at Chamiers Road. Chennaiyin Football Club [CFC], Chennai’s own iconic football team and Ms Mamatha Chari of Big Boss fame participated in the launch of this store and later addressed media in the city. The momentous occasion also witnessed participation from distinguished businessmen of Chennai, prominent citizens, sports personalities besides the Founders of WASSUP. Wassup is the Sponsor and Official Laundry Partner of Chennaiyin FC. Wassupalso run the laundromat at the CFC Campus in Chennai where all the laundry requirements of the players and support teams are handled.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Balachandar. R, Co Founder&CEO, Wassup stated: “We are proud to be associated with Chennaiyin FC team and thank them for their involvement in the launch of Chennai’s the first Wassup laundromat. We wish Chennaiyin FC the very best in the season ahead and cheer them loudly for every goal scored by them”.
He continued: “Wassup Laundry and Chennaiyin FC have a lot in common. Both are rising stars in their respective fields. In a country dominated by cricket, The ISL and CFC are opening up opportunities for youth with world class talent in sports other than the highly competitive cricket. Besides, ISL & CFC has facilitated huge opportunities for youth from Tier 2 & Tier 3 cities of India besides the rural interiors. They are also kindling interest and increasing awareness of football among Indian children in a significant and most interesting way. Wassuptoo is a pioneer … earlier in the space of organised and professional laundry services and presently the neighbourhood laundromat store concept”.
“India’s traditional laundry market is estimated at Rs. 2 lakh crores, mostly unorganized and served by about 11.2 Million dhobis. This industry is fast changing and rapidly modernising.Laundry is essentially a neighbourhood activity, similar to a Kirana store and closer to customers’ homes. The disruptive aspect of this model is that we will offer this service with 48 hours turnaround and at prices starting at Rs 18 per piece including washing and ironing.
We believe that this industry will grow rapidly through the franchising route. Attractive franchise model has been inaugurated today and we believe that entrepreneurs looking at this sector will partner with us to avail of their success prospects”.
Ms. Durga Das, Co Founder & MD, Wassup added: “This is a sunrise sector and if recent developments are any indicator, huge interest from prospective franchisees is foreseen. Most households now have both the man and the lady of the house working. Consequently, sharing of work and outsourcing for “non-essential” jobs are becoming a reality. Water is a constraint in most urban centres of India and week-old laundry including office wear, at-home wear and accessories is difficult over a weekend, which is earmarked for rest andrecuperation. This has led to many homes in urban cities outsourcing their laundry. We are looking to add 200 Laundromat Franchisees over the next 12 to 18 months. Besides, we plan to take this to 30 other cities across India.”
Ms. Vita Dani owner of Chennaiyin FC team mentioned:“Football is an upcoming sport in India and it is very encouraging to see enterprising startups like Wassup thinking differently and backing football. We are extremely happy to have Wassup as one of our sponsors and wish them great success in the laundromat model that they are launching today”.
Mr. Govindan Radhakrishnan, MD – Chennaiyin FC mentioned that “It is so encouraging to see a growing startup like Wassup backing a football team and take this approach. We are extremely happy to have Wassup as one of our sponsors and wish them great success in the laundromat model that they are launching today”.
The team captain Mailson Alves added, “We are very happy to associate with Wassup as our sponsors and Laundry Partner. They take care of our daily laundry for the players and support staff at our campus and their service has been top-notch. We urge our fans at CFC also to try out Wassup services at any of their outlets in Chennai. We also wish them success and growth in the new Wassup Laundromat Model they are launching today.”
Laundromat is a place where there are laundry washing machines, dryers and ironing facility available where customers can walk in with dirty laundry and have it processed right in front of their eyes. Wassup Laundry, a company founded in Chennai, is setting up neighbourhood laundromats, and the first one is setup at Chamiers Road, Alwarpet. Ambitious plans are on to scale up to 25 outlets in less than 12 months within Chennai and over 200 across cities in India.
The neighborhood laundromat will collect your laundry, wash it, press it and return it within 48 hours, at affordable prices starting from Rs. 18/- per piece. Attractive monthly packages of Rs 1000, Rs 2000, Rs 3000 and Rs 5000 that can cover an entire month’s laundry requirements are also on offer. The laundromat will also service your Dry-cleaning and premium laundry requirements.
Wassup Laundromat: Inspiring Origins We are all aware of the family dhobi turning up once a week to collect clothes and returning them exactly a week later, washed and ironed. The dhobi community suffered with the advent of washing machines. Also the aspirations of children of the dhobis was much higher and hence today, dhobis as a community is going extinct. We believe in the next 5 years this
will die out completely.
However, the chores of washing and pressing has not come down … only gone up. Even with modern washing machines at home, water remains a major constraint, especially in a city as Chennai. Besides, with both the man and the lady of the house working long hours through the week, washing 7 sets of clothes remains a challenge. Even if office wear can be sent for washing, inner wear and related accessories cannot be sent … the tariff is the deterrent.
NOTES TO EDITOR
About Wassup:
Wassup is a recognized pioneerin On-demand Laundry space in India and was founded in 2012. Wassup is present across 5 cities servicing over 3 lakh customers and has so far washed over 60 Million pcs. Wassup is listed among Global Services brands by Steve Dunn as a leader in the laundry space globally. Wassuphas been recognized as a Top 3 Retail Startup of the year 2017 by Retailers Association of India and Future Group at Retail Startup Awards. Wassup is the only “Fully integrated Hybrid Omni Channel”player and has launched neighbourhood laundromats in the Franchise Model. Wassup is also an approved laundry partner for leading hospitality brands like Taj, Oberoi, Marriotts, Sheraton, Radisson, Ascott and Holiday Inn to name a few. Leading investors in Wassup include Mr.Anil Jain (MD Refex Energy), Mr.B.S.Nagesh (Founder Trrain, Vice Chairman Shoppers Stop), Mr.Praveen Sinha (Founder Jabong), Mr.RangaIyer (Ex CEO Wyeth), Mr.Mani Subramanian (Ex CEO, Barclays India Operations).
Wassup has been co-founded by R Balachandar and Ms Durga Das. Balachandar is a gold medalist in his MBA program and the former Retail Head for iconic leather brand Hidesign and Ms DurgaDas is a silicon valley entrepreneur with over twenty years of start up experience in the hi tech world. Wassup has been seed funded by Das Star Ventures.
Customers can access Wassup services either through any of their stores or can order for a service online through our website, mobile app or our toll free number 1800 3000 9969.
In its state-of-the-art Laundry Hubs, Wassup has a team of fabric care and laundry experts who ensure that your favorite garments are treated right and stay clean and bright for a longer lifespan.
Details of the Wassup Laundromat Franchisee Model:
- Space required – 300 sqft
- Location – Neighbourhood
- ROI – 20 months
- Model – Franchisee owned Franchisee operated model
USP of Wassup Laundromat for Customers:
- Professional, Hygienic with state of the art technology.
- Offers both Laundry and Dry cleaning services.
- Prices per piece starting at Rs 18/- inclusive of washing and ironing
- Delivery within 48 hours
- Home delivery option available
- Your neighbourhood is your market
Profile of Co-founders:
Balachandar R, Co-Founder & CEO, Wassup is a Dun & Bradstreet Gold Medallist in his
Masters specializing in International Business conducted by IIFT at PSG Tech, Coimbatore. He has over 15 years of diverse experience in General Management, Marketing and Retail Brands. Bala has skill sets required to manage retail expansion with hands on experience in managing large front end teams as Head Retail Business for Hidesign and post that in his consulting and entrepreneurial ventures.
Durga Das, Co-Founder & MD, Wassup has 20 plus years of experience in early stage
start-up in the silicon valley. She is a Serial Entrepreneur and Angel Investor with expertise in Business Strategy, Management, Business development, Marketing & Sales.
