DETROIT — Lapels Dry Cleaning, headquartered in Hanover, Mass., recently came to a 16-store development agreement with Shambho LLC to bring the “Future of Dry Cleaning” here to the greater Detroit area. The first Lapels store is slated to open in late first quarter or early second quarter of 2015.
“We’re extremely excited about opening in Detroit, as it represents Lapels Dry Cleaning’s first location in Michigan,” says a spokesperson for Shambho, a Detroit-based development firm that is also a multi-unit franchisee of Great Clips hair salons in the area. “Lapels, with its green initiative, truly represents the future of dry cleaning, and we think the response from people in greater Detroit will be tremendous.”
Lapels has pioneered its eco-friendly dry cleaning experience over the past dozen years, the franchisor says. Most recently, it signed a partnership agreement with GreenEarth® for its newer locations. Lapels claims its cleaning process leaves no odor and is gentler on clothes, thus lengthening garment life.
Lapels’ emphasis on customer service starts with a “warm and inviting reception area, with friendly customer service representatives, and alteration services,” the franchisor says. Lapels offers customers “Automatic Rewards,” with customers earning credit toward free dry cleaning for every dollar they spend; loyalty programs; a VIP program that eliminates the need to wait in line; the use of a 24-hour drop-off service, and free home delivery to all customers. Same-day service is available with pick-up after 5 p.m.
“We’re delighted to sign this agreement with Shambho LLC, as it means more than bringing an environmentally friendlier way to dry clean clothes to the area. It also means jobs,” says Kevin Dubois, CEO of Lapels Dry Cleaning. “We expect to add 100 to 200 jobs to the greater Detroit area as we build our hub-and-spokes networks.”
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