Washing dirty linen made fun

Rami Shaar, co-founder and chief executive officer of Washmen

The UAE's hectic lifestyle and the abundant presence of the Dink (double income no kids) customer segment captured the imagination of an entrepreneur who decided to tap the opportunity by launching the Washmen app.

Washmen has been operational for two-and-a-half years. "We started with almost half a million dollars in seed funding investments followed by an undisclosed investment from an international venture capitalist focused on laundry tech investments," says Rami Shaar, co-founder and chief executive officer of Washmen.

Shaar recalls how he launched the first version of the Washmen app in October 2015. He initially had 4 drivers, of which 2 were co-founders. "We were ecstatic when we could hit 4 orders and when we reached 6 orders, it was a hall of fame record. Things changed rapidly though when we launched the actual app. In June 2016, we were operating full-fledged: our pick-ups at door jumped from 15 per cent to 35 per cent and we introduced the 'Happy Hour' concept that was a major contributor to our growth," adds Shaar.

Some of the main reasons Shaar cites for starting Washmen are the secure nature of the UAE market; lack of transactional friction; densely populated neighbourhoods; significant purchasing power and a fast-paced lifestyle, making the market ideal for a laundry business.

The company expanded its operations in Abu Dhabi in December 2016 and eventually expanded the team in May 2017. "We realised we had progressed a lot since the launch: we managed to grow a team of 4 into 50, coupled with the launch of a state-of-the-art facility that is challenging the status quo of how laundry is being done, at least in the UAE," observes Shaar.

Ali Dayekh, an investor in Washmen, says the laundry business has always been a very generic and dull affair. "What drew me to Washmen and its founder Rami was his ability to create an exciting and young experience around his service. When I met Rami, I understood his vision right away. He would overhaul the laundry business and make it interesting - everything from their design, promotion and overall execution promises the perfect blend of fresh professionalism and concept originality."

Dayekh adds that in this day and age, it is no longer sufficient to only provide a service, it must also be memorable. "I believe Washmen has captured the essential formula of combining an experience with strong execution to transcend the industry beyond simply laundry."

Washmen's customers are in the 25 to 34 age bracket and their profiles indicate they are married men in the Dink segment. The Dinks are mostly into shopping, fashion, outdoors, sports, are tech-savvy, in a mid managerial position and want to simplify boring chores - not wanting to waste free time. These customers like to have premium service and seek convenience in every aspect of their lives.

Washmen is currently available in Dubai and Abu Dhabi and all you need is a credit or debit card to avail of its services.

Traditionally, customers would send out only their business and formal wear to laundromats. A large portion of the laundry basket at home was not catered to by local laundry services. So, Washmen decided to launch the 'Wash Everything Bag' to allow customers to send out gym clothes, linen and casual wear for cleaning for a set price of Dh49. The company realised dry cleaning and pressing services were not solving an everyday problem.

"We focused on winning the other half of the laundry basket that customers wash themselves. Our new process is similar to washing at home as we split colours and wash them separately. More importantly, we don't mix your intimates with anybody else's. Since its launch, the 'Wash Everything Bag' has been a great success," adds Shaar.

The initiative - Wash Everything Bag - gained immense popularity, with a 90 per cent increase in adoption of the service as soon as the firm dropped prices from Dh49 to Dh79.

"Who in the market gives you the opportunity to have 10kg of clothes washed, dried and neatly folded for less than Dh50? This is the equivalent of at least 2 to 3 full loads at home. For Dh49, you can have all your weekly laundry done, without ever having to do it yourself. Customers might be sceptical at first, thinking that there might be a catch. But when they try us and see there is no catch, then they get addicted to it. Our retention rate is very high. Our goal is to always create an angle where customers can really feel that wow effect. We call it 'extra care'. With Wash Everything, you have that extra care feeling at a reasonable price of Dh49."

Nelio Leone, marketing director, Washmen, earlier helped Careem build its brand and culture from the ground up. Once Careem became a unicorn, Leone decided to move on.

"I knew that it was time for me to find another startup that was looking to grow. I was attracted by Washmen because I liked the brand and service as a customer. When I met the founders, I was convinced that it was the right move. Washmen has its own style of growth. The approach grew on me right away. It never felt like a desperate grow-no-matter-what approach [like most startups would have as a basic survival instinct]. At Washmen, there is a real attention to detail, brand is seen as a valuable asset and culture is central in the growth process. I love everything about this place so far: the people, the style, the speed, the growth hacking, the growth challenges, the learning experience. literally everything."

In partnership with Greentruck, Washmen has launched a home recycling initiative to encourage users to recycle their plastic and paper and reuse all Washmen bags and hangers, striving towards a cleaner and healthier society.

- sandhya@khaleejtimes.com