In the extremely competitive services like iron pressing, dry-cleaning, or stain removing on clothes, some old-time players are still surviving with the support of their loyal customers despite new entrants penetrating in this segment of the market
They not only wash your dirty linen for you but take pride in making it shine and look bright and that too within a short span of time. These are the dry cleaners and laundry service providers, without whom our cupboards look untidy and messed up with heaps of clothes scattered all over. Indeed, the neatly ironed clothes, arranged in a closet are ‘time savers’ too, especially in the morning rush hours – as we don’t have to hunt for the right pairs, pull them and rush to iron ourselves. There are possibilities of burning the clothes when hurriedly pressed. Time is money today, and these laundries save our time, and albeit, get paid for their services.
Youth in laundry
Laundry business is no longer looked down upon. Youth are taking pride in running their father’s laundry shop, and also taking professional training to learn the nuances of this lucrative trade. Rajkumar Paswan, proprietor at Goa Power Laundry is just 30, and already in business for the past eight years, offering home service across Goa. Paswan claims to be the first to start home-service in the State. Clothes are picked up from customer’s homes or hotel clients and delivered after washing and dry cleaning. Prior to entering the industry, he availed training from Bengaluru. His team, of professionally trained boys, has no women employees.
Expanding reach
Goa Power Laundry picks up clothes for steam ironing if there are 20 or more clothes at a time, and charges Rs 15 per piece. Usually, laundries in Goa avoid catering to such free-home deliveries, due to labour scarcity. With a team of 20, constantly engaged in travelling across North and South Goa, travelling with vans and two-wheelers to people’s homes, Paswan manages the show from his washing centre at Taleigao and his outlet at St Inez.
Wedding service
Paswan has initiated another unique concept in Goa – that of offering professional ironing services during weddings and marriages right at the venue. “We pre-book orders from the organisers, event managers or hotels for such occasions, when the guests want their clothes ironed on the day of the event. We charge Rs 20,000 per table per day with two persons ironing at the venue,” explains Paswan who handles hotels, resorts, and wedding venue business.
Care and caution
“We know the value of the clothes and the attachment of the customers to their clothes, so we take utmost care to avoid any damage. My team has dry-cleaned Lehengas worth Rs 3-4 lakh each, and expensive silk sarees. Yes, the customers ask us before handing over their attires, if we will return them intact. We assure them. If damaged, it is difficult to find a replacement of the same colour and quality. So we are careful,” explains Paswan.
Goa’s oldest
The State of Goa boasts of some of the oldest and reputed laundries that have been offering services for decades, competing with the new entrants in the market, and still retaining their hold on the business, that is run with the support of their loyal customers. ‘Sunshine’ at Comba and Vidyanagar, ‘Paris Laundry’ at Pandav Capel in Aquem-Alto and ‘Lavandaria Estrella’ at Pajifond near Hari Mandir temple are the oldest players in Margao and still operating and offering good service. However, ‘Lakaki Drycleaners and Art Dyers’ at the Margao Municipal Square steal the credit to be the first laundry shop to be opened in 1962 soon after liberation.
Lakaki legacy
Staying true to its name and claim, ‘Lakaki’ (meaning shine or sheen) has still retained its shine, even after 63 years. Having its base in Margao, with outlets at Panaji and Vasco, and collection centre at Cortalim, the laundry offers ironing, washing and dry cleaning services for clothes, curtains, carpets, quilts, soft toys, suits and wedding gowns.
Trusted service
“We are known for removing difficult stains from the clothes. It is our selling point for the past six decades, and ours was the only laundry in Goa to provide this service in the good old days when there was not much competition. We also have had a darning facility attached to our laundry for the past four decades – this unique service helps people restore their good clothes, torn accidently,” states 88-year-old Vyankatesh Atchut Naik Dalal, proprietor of Lakaki. The octogenarian still makes it to his shop at Municipality square in the evening to have a chat with his friendly customers. Today, his son Vinit Naik Dalal and daughter-in-law Shweta run the business.
Modern machines
The Lakaki factory at the outskirts of Margao has four state-of-the-art machines, which take loads in pounds – beginning from 40 pounds and going up to 150 pounds. Clothes collected from various outlets are brought to the factory, and different coloured tags are attached to each piece, for detection of the outlets. Then the mixed lot of clothes goes to the machine and come out after the entire process is complete. Huge washers and dryers wash clothes in the thousands every day. Delicate linen however is dried naturally in the open. The factory premises have an open-air space to dry clothes. Some are dried in shade. Not all laundries have such mega factories set in a large campus, as most work from smaller units. But a tough competition exists in the industry, compelling the players to attract customers with additional services, like prompt on-the-spot delivery or free-home delivery.
New entrants
Some of the newer entrants in the dry cleaning business are Goa Power Laundry, White Cloud, Prince Drycleaners, FabricSpa, Tumbledry Dry Clean & Laundry Services, The Smiley Laundry, Laundry Hub, Geetanshi Laundry & Dry Cleaners, Chris inn Laundry, Dress-up Laundry Pvt Ltd and Sai Dry Cleaning. Some of these have more than one outlet in Goa, while some of them already have their base in other States and have set up their chain of shops here.
Prince brand
A prominent name in this category is that of Prince Dry cleaners. Originally from Indore, Prince Dry Cleaners has five outlets in MP and four in Goa – at Panaji, Porvorim, Mapusa and Vasco. They have been in the business for over five decades – since 1975. Their first outlet in Goa started operating in Panaji 16 years ago, and since then, their services expanded to other cities in Goa.
Fabric care
“Prince Dry Cleaners is a trusted name in fabric care, known for our unmatched quality, reliability and attention to detail. We offer ironing services too. From delicate silks to everyday wear, wedding outfits to premium suits, our expert team ensures every garment receives a royal treatment – cleaned, pressed, and finished to perfection,” claims the outlet head at Prince Dry Cleaners in Panaji.
Beyond clothes
“Our company believes in professionalism, customer trust and innovation. We adopt new processes to satisfy our customers, offering them value for their money,” claims the unit head. She further added that they not only dry clean clothes, curtains, carpets and car-seat covers, but also shoes, soft toys, caps, bags (luxury handbags) too. Combining traditional craftsmanship to modern technology, we deliver results that preserve the life, look and feel of the clothes, she added.
Growing demand
Sai Sagar Power Laundry in Margao, Laundry Hub in Porvorim and the Smiley Laundry in Calangute also offer home delivery services. Tumbledry Dry Clean & Laundry Service has a presence in Alto Porvorim and Margao, with a website for online service information. Dress-up Laundry Pvt Ltd has been operating for nine years. Liberty Dry Cleaners, near Margao Railway Flyover has a reputation for 24-hour service and dry cleaning. Uclean Laundry at Caranzalem serves a variety of laundry needs for individuals and hotels.
Thriving industry
The laundry business is not only surviving but thriving, as people have long stopped ironing their clothes at home due to lack of time. Half the world is always in transit, and lives out of their suitcases, so the need to have neatly ironed clothes in cupboards and suitcases is universal, making the Dhobis prosperous.
