Not just a laundry, but a clothspa

Mumbai and Delhi might be the strongest consumers of couture in the country but when it comes to aftercare for luxury garments, there hasn’t been much more than the neighbourhood laundry on offer. Sensing the demand in the luxury laundry sector, Mumbai-based entrepreneur Sachin Dewan has joined hands with Al Jabr Laundry, the largest laundry in Saudi Arabia, to launch Bianca, a laundry chain for expensive threads.

“We felt that there was a significant gap between the demand and the services being offered in this industry. Premium garments deserve premium care and that is exactly what we are doing here. Mumbai is our home base, making it much easier to function as a startup and establish ourselves. Being home to so many designers and celebrities, Mumbai has a high demand for treating these luxury garments," says Dewan, CEO of the company.

Bianca’s launderers use form finishers to retain the shape of clothes.

The locations for “the clothspa" were a no-brainer—Bianca has outlets in Colaba, Nepean Sea Road, Bandra and Juhu, and a central processing unit in Rabale. With expertise and equipment of international quality hardly available in India, Dewan felt Al Jabr—with over 40 years’ experience in the sector and more than 600 retail outlets across Saudi Arabia—would be the right match. “They are also operating four large plants serving their outlets, the healthcare sector, hotels, National Guard and Saudi Aramco. Their vast experience and commitment to this industry places us in a better position to give our customers a premium experience," says Dewan.

Coming clean

All Bianca stores are serviced by the central processing unit in Rabale, loaded with washers, dry and wet cleaning machines, dryers, steam irons, finishers and more equipment imported from the US, Japan, German and Italy.

Spot and stain removal is done with German chemicals. “The garments are finished on form finishers from Germany, giving the garment its original shape and size. We use soft water to provide delicate care on our clothes and the environment and before disposal, we cure every chemical, making our waste as toxic-free as possible," says Dewan.

To offer an end-to-end solution, Bianca provides alteration services and will be starting leather and suede services soon. The charges are ₹199 for dry or wet cleaning a shirt, and ₹149 for laundry. “The pricing is different because the dry/wet cleaning process is different compared to a normal laundry and uses more techniques to service the garment. The highest is ₹1,499 for sherwanis and ₹1,998 (plus taxes) for heavily embroidered lehngas," says Dewan.

Biancaclothspa.com

Dhara Vora Sabhnani is a Mumbai-based journalist.