Laundrie set to expand to continental Europe

Laundry and dry-cleaning company Laundrie is expanding to continental Europe, with plans to open in Amsterdam.

The company, which offers dry-cleaning and laundry services that can be booked through an app at a time and pick-up or drop-off location of your choice, also plans to begin business in Belgium over the coming weeks. Launched in June last year, the company currently offers its services to customers in the Dublin area.

The firm will be on the fund raising trail to finance the move, seeking to raise between €750,000 and €1 million.

The company is considering a couple of strategies for the expansion, including a licensing arrangement for its software platform, or a hybrid model where the Laundries team would retain some input into the new businesses.

Most of the work will be done from Dublin, with founder Evan Gray planning to hire a country manager for the new locations. Drivers for the service are all self-employed.

“It’s one of the biggest challenges for the business,” said Mr Gray, noting that the new markets would have different quirks and habits to take account of.

The expansion has been a carefully considered move, Mr Gray said. The UK has been ruled out for now due to the existence of established competitors in the market and the impact of Brexit on the sterling-euro exchange rate. Difficulties around regulations also meant Italy was not a viable prospect at the moment.

“Northern Europe is more open to new technology than southern Europe,” he said, “and the south tends to be more bureaucratic.”

For now, the plan is to keep the operation as lean as possible, although Mr Gray said he was considering new ideas for the business to change the product a little.