Nabio et Eagle Limited; a Lagos based business consultancy firm has released the report of its survey on the topnotch companies in the business of dry cleaning services in Lagos State, the commercial hub of Nigeria. The result of the exercise, which was conducted in the fourth quarter of 2017 made available to Newsbitsng.com showcased the best professional dry cleaners on a league table from thousands of other flight-by-night operators whose ill-structured services only cause pain to customers.
According to the report, released to the media at the weekend, leading the dry cleaning companies on the top echelon of the business with aggregate score include Garment Care Limited, Clean Ace and Snow Flakes and Laundry by Time Signature Limited. The other companies that made it to top 11 on the table include, West Man Quest Limited, Nathan’s Superior Dry Cleaners, The Laundry Box Limited, Laundry House Co., Discount Dry Cleaners, Safi.ng and Laundry King Limited.
With this latest report, which is commendable as the first of its kind in the dry-cleaning sub-sector of Lagos State economy, Lagosians and millions of visitors that throng into the mega city only have themselves to blame if they ignore the well-researched report and continue patronising dry-cleaning outfits in the non-professional category. According to the report, the dry cleaning industry in Lagos State like every other unregulated industries has hundreds, if not thousands of service providers playing both in the professional and non-professional category. In line with the fundamental goal of the assessment, the report, according to the agency would help foster healthy competition in the industry and encourage better service quality delivery to customers.
One interesting thing about the report is the methodology the research firm employed and deployed, which enabled them to arrive at the leading dry cleaning firms in Lagos State. A closer look at the report showed that key attributes considered critical to customers were directly derived through the use of direct experience, customer survey, review of critical impressions points, mystery shopping, assessment through online professional tools and assessment of platforms. These include customer satisfaction, service range, product quality, operational structure, accessibility, online app, brand quality, web assessment, and pricing amongst many other attributes.
According to the survey, several professional dry cleaners were assessed side by side on the key parameters stated above. The exercise employed quantitative approach as much as possible and where it is impossible to obtain relevant data, assessment on such attribute was totally avoided. The actual method of some of the attributes are explained by the research firm are as follows: “Customer satisfaction was arrived by ranking the customer reviews garnered by the companies on their Google business pages; To assess phone etiquette, a direct phone call was made to each professional dry cleaner on the number stated on their website with a simple request for the price for shirt dry cleaning. The front office was expected to properly introduce their company, state their name and offer help or service to the customer. A full score was given to any company who covered the three parameters, while a company that did not cover anyone was rated as poor; To obtain the quality of a dry cleaner’s online quality, real assessment of the website, service offering and functionalities to the customer, rate of keeping in touch with the customer, social presence and search engine optimization (SEO) index was assessed using one of the best SEO tools (https://toolbox.seositecheckup.com/) and key parameters such as transparency, profitability and financial soundness, which could have shed light on the capitalisation and performance of the company could not be assessed because none of the companies have their financial statements uploaded on their website.”
Profile Of Some Of The Winners:
Garment Care Limited was founded in the late 90’s and it prides itself as Nigeria’s premier Dry Cleaning Service provider. Its coverage is on both Lagos mainland and Island covering all ranges of fabrics. Garment care is considered a premium service provider targeted at the mid- upper class customers. It is owned by Mrs. Nana Otedola Garment Care Limited is unique is its services due to its consistent quality and premium brand. It comes 1st on an aggregate score of 94%.
Clean Ace Dry Cleaners has a history that dates as far back as three generations and one of the leaders in the industry. It recently commenced the Dry Cleaning Academy where it transfers knowledge to interested entrepreneurs. With a strong brand presence, its coverage in on Lagos Island and mainland. Clean Ace is founded by Mr. Eniibukun Adebayo. He graduated from Ondo State University and he is an Alumni of Lagos Business School and Stanford University US. He worked for a few years at Garment Care Limited in early 2000 before branching out to set up his own. Clean Ace Dry Cleaners is unique in its services due to its rich heritage, experience and show of leadership in transfer of knowledge. Clean Ace comes 2nd on an aggregate score of 86%.
Snow Flakes is a conservative but quintessential brand founded in the 2000. It has 2 factories situated at Ikeja and Vitoria Island which cater for its clients on Lagos Island and Mainland. Snow Flakes boasts of well trained staff force and a well-structured organization. On its website, Snowflakes says it was voted the best West African Dry Cleaning Company in 2007.Its conservatism and high level of quality sets it apart from other professional dry cleaners in the country. Snow Flakes comes 3rd on an aggregate score of 85%.
LaundrybyTimeSignature was founded early 2000 as a general cleaning services company, it has since grown into a strong professional dry cleaning brand with a strong route business. It prides itself as the only professional dry cleaner that offers free wash to first time customers as well as a completely free pick-up and delivery service. LaundrybyTimeSignature has a strong presence in Lekki axis of Lagos and it recently won the award for Laundry/Dry Cleaning Leadership Excellence Prize 2017. It is unique for its functional website, responsiveness to customers, its free wash and pick-up & delivery service. LaundrybyTimeSignature jointly with West Man Quest popularly called WQ comes 4th on an aggregate score of 76%. www.laundrybytimesignature.com
West Man Quest popularly called WQ is a professional Dry Cleaning Services Company that started at Ifako Lagos Nigeria. It has since grown in size and coverage. The Chief Promoter Mr. Aikpitanyi Bright graduated with a degree in Chemistry from University of Lagos in the late 90’s. He has worked in the Financial Industry in the mid-2000 and he brings the financial services experience on board with a vision of driving the dry cleaning industry in a different way. WQ prides itself as a fast growing professional Fabric Care and Dry Cleaning Services Company that caters for the wardrobes of middle class, upwardly mobile professionals, business men as well as the fabric care needs of businesses and corporate organizations. WQ jointly with LaundrybyTimeSignature comes 4th on an aggregate score of 76%.
Nathan’s Limited was founded in the mid 40’s in the US but was brought to Nigeria in 1995. Its prime location in Victoria Island Lagos provides it with great accessibility to its customers. It prides itself as the largest dry cleaner in Africa, having the most advanced dry cleaning technology in the market and assures its customers of a better treatment of their fabrics at a competitive cost giving value for money. Nathan’s is unique in its heritage and years of deep experience. Nathan’s comes 6th on an aggregate score of 75%.