ZIPS Cleaners has announced it will add two new locations in Washington, D.C., by the end of next year.
KV Management, LLC, which currently operates two ZIPS locations in the District – as well as two in Fairfax, Va., and another in Sterling, Va. – has issued letters of intent to occupy two spaces in the central District region.
The first location is slated to open in the first quarter of 2023, while the second will debut in the third quarter of next year, bringing to seven the total number of locations run by KV Management’s partners Brett Vago and Kyo Kim, two of the founders of the ZIPS chain.
Vago and Kim say they may open additional D.C. locations in the future. In addition, they have signed a development agreement to expand their presence in Loudoun County in partnership with Carlos Cadenas, a fellow ZIPS founder and multi-unit ZIPS owner in northern Virginia.
“We are very excited to be providing more convenience and easier access to residents and workers in the District,” Vago said. “Between these new locations and the system advancements ZIPS has underway, we are making it easier than ever for customers to get their belongings to us, have them professionally cleaned, and get them back quickly and for comparatively little cost.”
“This is a great example of how we’re leveraging existing operations to give our brand greater presence, our franchisees more comprehensive market coverage, and our customers better access to our services,” added Abhi Parikh, director of business development for ZIPS. “We’re pursuing such opportunities with many franchisees and seeking new franchisees who can partner with them to facilitate their own entry into the garment-care business.”
ZIPS serves residential and commercial clients through two retail models – full-service facilities where all five of its services (drycleaning, pressed laundry, wash-dry-fold, alterations and cleaning of household items like comforters) are handled on-site, and satellite drop-off locations that receive and return items to customers but send all items out to be processed at a nearby full-service site.
In select markets, ZIPS has begun offering home pickup and delivery, as well as 24-hour branded locker systems.
In addition, a new ZIPS Rewards Program, as well as a customer relationship management and email-marketing platform, went live in September. Also, a gift card program will debut before the end of the year, along with a new mobile app, according to the company.
“The pandemic has shown us that consumers want complete flexibility and convenience when patronizing a business,” Vago explained. “With our expansion coinciding with the introduction of so many new services, we feel very confident that we can take the hassle of garment care off our customers’ minds, freeing them up to tackle other tasks and enjoy more of life.”
Currently, there are nearly 70 ZIPS locations throughout the United States, with more than 100 scheduled to open in the next few years.
