COVID washing woes give rise to fastest growing franchise concept in the country
While households across the country bulged and groaned under the weight of COVID thanks to kids and parents spending their days working, schooling and exercising at home due to cruel lockdowns, one entrepreneur had a lightbulb moment.
Bill Cobanoglu, one of the Jim’s Group’s original franchisors, responsible for owning and growing many franchises and franchisor areas within the cleaning division of the business, recognised an opportunity to launch a new franchise concept in Australia to provide laundry services to struggling families.
Already the proud owner of over 200 Jim’s Cleaning franchises, Cobanoglu launched the new Jim’s Laundry Services division in 2021.
“COVID was the perfect storm for the birth of household services to help people survive the stress of COVID,” Cobanoglu said.
“In Victoria, people were completely fed up living with such strain under one roof for such long periods of time that the ability to have someone pick up your laundry in the morning and return it back in the afternoon or the next day was a no-brainer.
“It just made sense. Why do the washing when you are so sick of being in a house with a washing machine. All everyone wanted to do was reduce the stress of being stuck in a house and get as far away from appliances as possible.
“Within weeks of launching in Melbourne, orders were coming in thick and fast from people wanting to have their laundry done.
“Jim’s Laundry Services is effectively an uber style laundry service. You simply book, put your laundry in a big, we collect it, wash, dry and fold your items and return them to you the next day.”
According to Cobanoglu, within a few months, the new Jim’s Laundry Services division was getting lots of enquiries from people wanting to buy Jim’s Laundry Services franchises.
“The concept is simple. All you need is a washing machine, dryer and a vehicle,” Cobanoglu said.
Today, the new Jim’s Laundry Services division already has over 80 franchisees and is expected to reach 100 by the end of the year.
“We are growing at incredible speed and it is easy to see why,” Cobanoglu said.
“Aside from bookkeeping, washing and drying is a relatively easy form of work. We have set up arrangements with commercial grade washing machine and dryer brands and our franchisees simply set these up in their home or garage and off they go. Some have quite a few so they can have a number of them going all at once.
“This is work that can easily be done while the kids are at school, or if you want to work but only want to undertake light work.
“It is also ideal for people who don’t have strong communication skills. As long as you know how to wash, dry and fold clothes, you will do well.
“Demand is so great, we also offer a broad range of laundry services for sports teams, hospitality venues, care services, the NDIS, and more. We even do all of your ironing.”
Founder and CEO of the Jim’s Group, Jim Penman said, “Jim's Laundry is our fastest growing division since the launch of Jim’s Mowing in 1989, reaching 72 franchisees in just over two years. Apart from being well received by the public, a key factor is that Jim’s Laundry appeals to women wanting flexible hours to suit family needs. This is a feature of all our fastest growing divisions, including Jim’s Cleaning and Jim’s Dog Wash.”
Bill Cobanoglu took out the Jim’s Group 2023 Franchisor of the Year award at this year’s awards in Melbourne. 2023 is proving to be a highly successful year for the Jim’s Group. Not only did the group undertake its first Family and Trade Day open to the general public at the Melbourne Showgrounds, it also celebrated a significant milestone of 5000 franchisees.
The Jim’s Group was founded by Jim Penman 30 years ago and has grown to become Australia’s largest and most trusted franchise group with some 5,000 franchisees across 47 divisions. The Jim’s Group is a family led business that prides itself on providing a franchise system that enables sole operators to thrive and expand allowing them to live on their terms.
