The Staycation Effect
Cole & Wilson talk to two of their clients about how a tumultuous 2020 has changed their laundry outlooks.
This year, the Staycation has been top of the list when it came to holiday destinations. It may not always be a first choice for many, but nonetheless it’s been a chance to check out some of those places that make Britain great.
Thankfully this change has offered a lifeline to many businesses up and down the country, not least small to medium sized laundries. Two of Cole & Wilson clients, one in North Wales and the second in Cornwall, have seen business rocket over the last few months as people looked for a change in scenery following weeks of lockdown.
Monarch Cleaners, based in Prestatyn, is a family business that has been serving the local community for over 40 years. Mikey Lloyd and his sister Annie now run the business on a day to day basis offering a range of services to commercial and private customers all over North Wales and Cheshire.
Mikey said: “We’ve had almost a season’s worth of work in just over a couple of months. Even our customers who we just work for now and then saw a dramatic increase in business.”
Monarch work with a range of bed and breakfasts, small hotels, as well as a large amount of local private customers with personal linen to launder. This local business, and their contracts with the North Wales Police and Fire & Rescue Service, helped them stay open all through lockdown, operating a reduced working week.
However, by mid-July, people were flocking to the area, desperate to have a break and keen to find accommodation. Following the provision of the required personal protective
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equipment (PPE), Monarch rapidly moved from a short working week to extended split shifts, with its workforce of 25 working full out.
Things are now back to near-normal for this time of year, confirms Mikey, but the rise in business couldn’t have come at a better time and has made a huge difference to the company.
Down in Cornwall, LJ Laundry Services experienced a similar situation. Usually a popular holiday destination from Easter onwards, COVID-19 hit their business badly in March and the laundry actually shut for two weeks.
Again, buoyed by its local private customers who needed a laundry service, LJ re-opened running on a skeleton staff offering services for its local elderly customers and NHS workers. With most now having more time at home, there was also an influx in curtains and upholstery items.
Set up by two friends, Hayley Richards and Hilary Mansell, this small business in Redruth has, over the past decade, grown into a multi-faceted laundry that operates from Lands End to Trispen and out to the Roseland Peninsula.
Mandy Solomon, who joined LJ Laundry Services at the outset as a part time driver, now manages the laundry but both Hayley and Hilary are still involved in the business and are continuing to drive it forward.
Mandy explained: “As soon as lockdown ended, business in the campsites and holiday homes went crazy. We had all the staff back in off furlough, working flat out. It was a really busy July and August and business is still not quieting down as yet.
twitter.com/TomoCleaning
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