LAUNDRY service company WeClean Philippines is eyeing to establish 500 branches across the country by 2025 as part of its expansion plans.
WeClean Chief Operating Officer Ignacio Phelan said the company plans to open and manage 500 laundromats nationwide in the next three years after securing $1.4 million in additional funds from local and foreign investors last year.
“The funding we secured last year has really fueled us to aggressively expand our operations to open and manage 500 laundromats not just in nearby provinces but across the whole of the Philippines in the next three years. It is a massive goal for us to be able to stay true to our plans and move forward with our plans for the year,” Mr. Phelan said in a statement on Tuesday.
WeClean Chief Executive Officer Alfonso Bigeriego Patiño said the company plans to expand outside of Metro Manila and also to other Southeast Asian (SEA) countries. Currently, WeClean operates 63 branches.
“We look at residential areas with a lot of traffic such as those within distance from high-rise condominiums or barangays where people cannot afford to have washing machines at home. These nearby provinces are key to our business growth plan. And in a few months after successfully opening in Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Palawan, we are eyeing to open our first branches in other SEA countries like Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia,” Mr. Patiño said.
Meanwhile, WeClean said it plans to launch the “WeClean Mobile App” on April 1, which will allow customers to have easier access to the company’s laundry services. It will be available on the Apple AppStore and Google Play Store.
The app has features such as booking a pickup and delivery service as well as pre-booking a laundry branch drop-off with certain customer specifications, including the type of clothing, type of fold, type of wash/dry, and how much soap or fabric conditioner to be used.
“This platform will up the notch when it comes to listening to and providing our customers what they really need — time-saving accessible laundry services at the tip of their fingers. We want to offer direct communication at a time when laundry has really become part and parcel of everyday life,” Mr. Phelan said.
“With our aim to bring our laundry shops closer to Filipinos, we are hoping that we will be able to help our customers realize the true benefit of trusting a reliable laundromat like ours. And as we launch our mobile app, we are eyeing to be able to have between 25,000 to 30,000 downloads in Metro Manila alone by yearend,” he added. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave
