Adaptability and flexibility are nothing new for Indian retail businesses. It is in fact one of the reasons many of them were able to survive the onslaught of the pandemic. Particularly interesting are the newer categories of service brands that have been quick to spot market opportunities and accordingly leverage their retail space. For these service brands, the physical retail space essentially helps reiterate brand credibility and establish better connect with their customers. UCLEAN, the laundry service brand launched in 2017, has been consistently scaling its retail presence across 100 cities, opening 335 laundromats across the country and focusing mainly on tier 2-3 cities. The brand is driven by specific strategies like going hyper local and being micro entrepreneur driven.

Says Arunabh Sinha, Founder and CEO of UCLEAN, “When we set out to launch our service, it was not to alter the cleaning habit in the country; after all, the  ‘Dhobi’ culture has existed in our country for a long time. Our idea on the other hand was to introduce transparency into the whole system, so our customers could get visibility into how their clothes were being used and cleaned. So we planned on setting up these friendly, micro-format neighbourhood laundromats wherein customers could see the whole process.” 

He adds, talking about the success factor for a category like a laundry, “People are becoming very convenience-driven and laundry is one of the most tedious tasks, which they are increasingly opting to outsource. So these changes in lifestyle have been among the biggest reasons for our success.”  

Retail approach - Micro Entrepreneur driven  

The other enabling factor, as Arunabh informs, has been the growth of uncertainties in the job market and the corresponding rise in demand for entrepreneurial opportunities. This meant the brand could draw more potential partners as franchisees.       

As he adds, talking about the brand’s approach to retail expansion, “I have a strong franchise background myself and I was very clear that our retail approach had to be driven by micro-entrepreneurs who could be our franchise partners. So we are a franchise-led laundry brand, driven by micro entrepreneurs who have a strong understanding of their neighbourhoods. We have consciously stayed away from malls and high streets, and focused on neighbourhood markets.”

The idea was to tap consumers at high frequency businesses like grocery stores and chemists in these local markets. As Arunabh says, “Hyperlocal markets are a logical fit for us in terms of our store location because most retail tenants in these markets are also working on high frequency businesses, like grocery shops and chemists, where typically the same customer would keep coming back. So our idea was to tap these people visiting these shops for their essential purchases.”  

Arunabh adds, looking back at their journey, “After the first couple of stores, we started to understand the nuances of the business and began partnering with more micro entrepreneurs as our franchise partners.” 

The store space 

Given its category, UCLEAN operates from micro format stores with the average store size being 200-250 sq feet, with some locations having even smaller stores, of say 110-150 sq feet. The basic idea is to have compact spaces with the machines being the main draw in the stores. As Arunabh shares, “Our machines attract a lot of attention, particularly in the smaller cities and towns, and consumers get intrigued by them. So at every UCLEAN store, we have a clean, well maintained glass door at the main entrance, which allows easy visibility of the store interiors. The sight of the huge washing machines from outside usually draws people in and they end up placing their first order. So the glass doors in our stores create the first level of curiosity for the brand. Also, our stores are very modular, flexible and compact to enable easy relocation for our partners, if needed.” 

In terms of other visual communication elements, the brand maintains a green and white colour scheme to convey its focus on sustainability. As Arunabh informs, “We are very focused on being eco-friendly; we use only biodegradable materials in our stores - whether it’s the detergents we use or the packaging materials, and we convey the same through our branding and signage.”  

Challenges & next milestones 

As the brand expands its presence across the length and breadth of the country, manpower supply for franchisees that is in pace with retail expansion seems to be the biggest challenge. But that hasn’t stopped it from defining the next goal -“to become a one-stop shop for all cleaning requirements and offering a DTH service,” as Arunabh shares. The brand is also looking to tap the ‘MENA’ markets (Middle East and North Africa), where he says there is a huge demand for such professional services. Meanwhile, the expansion journey across the country continues for UCLEAN.   

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