Opening a Laundrette
Discussion
So we recently closed down the retail clothing store my parents ran for a few decades and now the retail shop sits empty. we live behind the shop.
one of the options we have is turning it into a dining room which i think is pointless. the other is to separate the electrics and put out on rent but it would be just the shop room itself. I think we'd get around £300/350pm for it.
Another option that did occur to me is doing something ourselves and the laundrette idea came into my head. we could seal it off from the main house, and attend to it at the end of the day with any cleaning. it would be entirely self service.
has anyone opened one? what kind of costs would we be looking at? its in a good location for one. we would most likely have to upgrade the electrics etc and the piping.
the shop i would say is probably big enough for about 10/15 washing machines/dryers.
one of the options we have is turning it into a dining room which i think is pointless. the other is to separate the electrics and put out on rent but it would be just the shop room itself. I think we'd get around £300/350pm for it.
Another option that did occur to me is doing something ourselves and the laundrette idea came into my head. we could seal it off from the main house, and attend to it at the end of the day with any cleaning. it would be entirely self service.
has anyone opened one? what kind of costs would we be looking at? its in a good location for one. we would most likely have to upgrade the electrics etc and the piping.
the shop i would say is probably big enough for about 10/15 washing machines/dryers.
I use one once a week for the tumble dryer. It s always rammed and they re making a fortune out of it. It’s self service with a phone number on the door.
I was there yesterday for about 40 mins and every single machine was in use. At £6.50 a wash and £1/6 mins on the dryer they re making a pretty penny for sure.
We re not a massive town either tbh.
I was there yesterday for about 40 mins and every single machine was in use. At £6.50 a wash and £1/6 mins on the dryer they re making a pretty penny for sure.
We re not a massive town either tbh.
I live in a reasonable nice suburb with most homes in the area being detached / semi-detached family homes.
4 years ago the local petrol station installed washers which are always busy,
3 months ago a completely self-serve laundrette opened on the high street which are also always busy. I don’t know why!
4 years ago the local petrol station installed washers which are always busy,
3 months ago a completely self-serve laundrette opened on the high street which are also always busy. I don’t know why!
Domestic washers are not great with outsize things like duvets, people don't want to put manky stuff in their own washer for irrational reasons(dog beds etc) plus they break down and getting them fixed can be sisyphean, so even with universal washer ownership there will still be demand.
Saleen836 said:
Milkyway said:
My local garage has washers & dryers outside...opposite the valeters.
A few of these dotted around local to me also, very popular due to the size as people wash duvets etc, also popular with the horse set as they wash horse rugs etc in themMilkyway said:
My local garage has washers & dryers outside...opposite the valeters.
So does the Morrisons, it’s these: https://www.wash-megroup.com/en-uk/PovertyPrince said:
I use one once a week for the tumble dryer. It s always rammed and they re making a fortune out of it. It s self service with a phone number on the door.
I was there yesterday for about 40 mins and every single machine was in use. At £6.50 a wash and £1/6 mins on the dryer they re making a pretty penny for sure.
We re not a massive town either tbh.
Passed by it a handful of times since then as it’s on my route to work. It is always busy. I was there yesterday for about 40 mins and every single machine was in use. At £6.50 a wash and £1/6 mins on the dryer they re making a pretty penny for sure.
We re not a massive town either tbh.
I genuinely think as long as there isn’t already one in the town, you keep it clean and the s
t works, they’re very successful.Ironically I’ll be using it again on Saturday, got some blankets that will need a dry after I’ve washed at home, so they’ll have had £20 out of me just in tumble drying this week.
A friend of a friend has 2 or 3 laundrettes. And by the looks of his cars, he's doing alright.
Has one woman working a few hours a day in each, doing stuff like football teams kits and service washes.
Mostly self service but we reckoned he was making 10k a month on each.
Obviously the set up costs are going to be high, as will the energy bills, but there's clearly money in it.
Has one woman working a few hours a day in each, doing stuff like football teams kits and service washes.
Mostly self service but we reckoned he was making 10k a month on each.
Obviously the set up costs are going to be high, as will the energy bills, but there's clearly money in it.
Geoffcapes said:
A friend of a friend has 2 or 3 laundrettes. And by the looks of his cars, he's doing alright.
Has one woman working a few hours a day in each, doing stuff like football teams kits and service washes.
Mostly self service but we reckoned he was making 10k a month on each.
Obviously the set up costs are going to be high, as will the energy bills, but there's clearly money in it.
If he lives behind it’s possibly quite a big building. Get some solar and a battery in there with a cheap rate and laugh all the way to the bank. Has one woman working a few hours a day in each, doing stuff like football teams kits and service washes.
Mostly self service but we reckoned he was making 10k a month on each.
Obviously the set up costs are going to be high, as will the energy bills, but there's clearly money in it.
Often very busy. A guy I know with some self-service laundries, a dry cleaners & commercial laundry does very well indeed.
The commercial machines will have lots of OEM & Indie service options but beware, the main risk to commercial laundries is fire from dried items spontaneously catching alight when out of the machine (typically in a big wheeled hopper) & you'd think they were cooling down.
Definately get a Fire Risk Assessment done (insurance will insist) and put supression in if the scale/budget allows.
These are the guys I've used for FRAs (not laundry but I know they cover most things, nationwide and don't sell the remedial services so you get an impartial report) https://www.nwfiresolutions.co.uk/services/fire-ri...
As with anything, location will be key but can be surprising. Posh areas will make use for horse blankets, city areas because lots of people in flats only have small machines and some areas because people can't afford machines at all - or perhaps can wash but don't have a tumbledryer.
Near to a holiday or business travel area? We used a small (3 washers, 3 dryers) self service place in Valencia a couple of times on holiday - very useful and was constantly busy.
The commercial machines will have lots of OEM & Indie service options but beware, the main risk to commercial laundries is fire from dried items spontaneously catching alight when out of the machine (typically in a big wheeled hopper) & you'd think they were cooling down.
Definately get a Fire Risk Assessment done (insurance will insist) and put supression in if the scale/budget allows.
These are the guys I've used for FRAs (not laundry but I know they cover most things, nationwide and don't sell the remedial services so you get an impartial report) https://www.nwfiresolutions.co.uk/services/fire-ri...
As with anything, location will be key but can be surprising. Posh areas will make use for horse blankets, city areas because lots of people in flats only have small machines and some areas because people can't afford machines at all - or perhaps can wash but don't have a tumbledryer.
Near to a holiday or business travel area? We used a small (3 washers, 3 dryers) self service place in Valencia a couple of times on holiday - very useful and was constantly busy.
Edited by Pot Bellied Fool on Tuesday 30th December 12:29
Your bio says you are in Accrington. A quick Google of 'Launderette Accrington' lists six of them.
From a brief scan, Washbowl seem to be the most commercially savvy of them, they have multiple locations across the Blackburn area, they look like a pretty slick operation.
https://washbowl.co.uk/
First question: is there capacity in the market for another laundrette in Accrington? Are their sites always busy/full/hard to access for people in your neighbourhood? How do you compete against these established providers as a complete newb?
They list their charges: https://washbowl.co.uk/cost/ ... would you plan to undercut them or go in at the same price point?
As with any new business you should perform a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) as part of your business plan.
Your strength is that you own your premises.
Your first weakness is that you have no experience in the business. Established players are a threat to you.
Energy costs, completely out of your control, are a threat to you. What if we get an electricity rate hike? Those established players could potentially absorb it, you may not be able to.
I wish you well, but my gut feel is that the market where you are is already catered for. Happy to be proved wrong though.
From a brief scan, Washbowl seem to be the most commercially savvy of them, they have multiple locations across the Blackburn area, they look like a pretty slick operation.
https://washbowl.co.uk/
First question: is there capacity in the market for another laundrette in Accrington? Are their sites always busy/full/hard to access for people in your neighbourhood? How do you compete against these established providers as a complete newb?
They list their charges: https://washbowl.co.uk/cost/ ... would you plan to undercut them or go in at the same price point?
As with any new business you should perform a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) as part of your business plan.
Your strength is that you own your premises.
Your first weakness is that you have no experience in the business. Established players are a threat to you.
Energy costs, completely out of your control, are a threat to you. What if we get an electricity rate hike? Those established players could potentially absorb it, you may not be able to.
I wish you well, but my gut feel is that the market where you are is already catered for. Happy to be proved wrong though.
Shooter McGavin said:
Your bio says you are in Accrington. A quick Google of 'Launderette Accrington' lists six of them.
From a brief scan, Washbowl seem to be the most commercially savvy of them, they have multiple locations across the Blackburn area, they look like a pretty slick operation.
https://washbowl.co.uk/
First question: is there capacity in the market for another laundrette in Accrington? Are their sites always busy/full/hard to access for people in your neighbourhood? How do you compete against these established providers as a complete newb?
They list their charges: https://washbowl.co.uk/cost/ ... would you plan to undercut them or go in at the same price point?
As with any new business you should perform a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) as part of your business plan.
Your strength is that you own your premises.
Your first weakness is that you have no experience in the business. Established players are a threat to you.
Energy costs, completely out of your control, are a threat to you. What if we get an electricity rate hike? Those established players could potentially absorb it, you may not be able to.
I wish you well, but my gut feel is that the market where you are is already catered for. Happy to be proved wrong though.
A very sensible post, with lots of good points made.From a brief scan, Washbowl seem to be the most commercially savvy of them, they have multiple locations across the Blackburn area, they look like a pretty slick operation.
https://washbowl.co.uk/
First question: is there capacity in the market for another laundrette in Accrington? Are their sites always busy/full/hard to access for people in your neighbourhood? How do you compete against these established providers as a complete newb?
They list their charges: https://washbowl.co.uk/cost/ ... would you plan to undercut them or go in at the same price point?
As with any new business you should perform a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) as part of your business plan.
Your strength is that you own your premises.
Your first weakness is that you have no experience in the business. Established players are a threat to you.
Energy costs, completely out of your control, are a threat to you. What if we get an electricity rate hike? Those established players could potentially absorb it, you may not be able to.
I wish you well, but my gut feel is that the market where you are is already catered for. Happy to be proved wrong though.
A bloke had a chip shop in Rawtenstall five miles away, around Covid, he opened a second one in Accrington, it lasted five weeks before wannabe gangsters ran him out of town with threats.
I'm in quite a posh bit of outer London and the only launderette nearby is always busy.
I only went there to dry my down jackets with tennis balls as I don't have a tumble dryer.
Woman in there chased me out as she was doing all the service washes and all the machines were in use.
Told me to come back in the evening. It was packed..
I only went there to dry my down jackets with tennis balls as I don't have a tumble dryer.
Woman in there chased me out as she was doing all the service washes and all the machines were in use.
Told me to come back in the evening. It was packed..
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