Rinse Acquires Washio’s Assets

Nearly a month after on-demand laundry service Washio shut its doors, the company’s assets were purchased by Rinse, one of its main competitors.Terms of the deal were not disclosed.“It wasn’t a sign of Rinse winning and Washio losing,” said Rinse CEO Ajay Prakash, in a TechCrunch report.Prakash added that the on-demand model isn’t the most efficient or economical way to handle laundry. In his opinion, it was Washio’s switch to an on-demand model that led to its downfall.When Washio originally launched, it offered a service that would pick up users’ laundry or drycleaning at a scheduled time, sometimes as early as 24 hours from the time of the order placement. In 2015, the company launched Washio Now, guaranteeing a pickup within an hour of ordering, with a 24-hour turnaround time on clothes.With the acquisition of Washio assets, Rinse picks up additional customers in Boston, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Oakland, New York and Washington, D.C.“We had a chance to acquire customer lists, and we took advantage of it,” Prakash said.Like Washio, Rinse has an impressive list of investors. The company is backed by a host of Los Angeles’ finest firms, including Arena Ventures and CAA Ventures, along with Accelerator Ventures, Expansion VC, Structure Capital, Otter Rock Capital and Base Ventures.Rinse’s business model is different from most of its competitors. It doesn’t keep drivers in circulation all day, every day, and takes a few days to process orders.“Valets,” the part-time employees who pickup and delivery the clothes, operate only between 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. In addition, there’s a drop-off service available, for customers who won’t be home during those times.Rinse’s current services include launder and press, wash and fold, drycleaning, hang dry, leather cleaning and some garment repair.