Organized laundry sector versus the dhobi tradition in India
We, the people of India, have been conditioned to think of our maids or the local dhobis whenever we consider laundry for our clothes. This dhobi tradition of India has been prevalent in communities since the time British ruled in India. But the current generation has been seeing unprecedented changes in all spheres of life. In the case of laundry sector as well, the market is shifting from dhobis to an organised machine-intensive sector.
Previously, due to a dearth of access for proper machine wash, our clothes used to bear the brunt of rough handling. But with time, newer avenues have opened up, and the laundry sector in India has offered us an alternative of giving our clothes to the local dhobis. Some of the reasons for this reconstruction are:
- Increase in disposable income:
Nowadays, especially in metropolitan cities, because of double income in homes, people can afford machine wash for their clothes.
- Low supply in the unorganised sector:
With time it has become harder to get household help. So doing laundry at home has become more difficult than it was before. Also, the quality of hand wash can never compare to machine wash. That’s why more people are opting for an organised laundry.
- It is recession proof:
Many start-ups have successfully started their laundry business in various parts of the country. Since the demand laundry will always be there amongst people, there is hardly any scope for a recession in this business.
- The success of the sector so far:
Since machine operated laundries have been vastly successful in the cities of India, many foreign big-wigs are eyeing to invest in this sector. The laundry sector is estimated to be a whopping $96.8 billion industry with the majority of stakes held by the unorganized sector. However, because of rapid growth in the organised section, the stakes for growth are in their favor.
- Requires minimum investment:
Entering into the laundry sector in India requires very low investment. Also, since venturing into this business requires no prior experience, it is quite attractive for people looking to start something afresh.
Why does the unorganized laundry sector still dominate the laundry market in India?
Until very recently, India did not know any alternative to getting dhobis to wash their clothes. These dhobis have built their customer bases through decades of service and a lot of hard work. Thus obliterating their necessity, at one go, was not possible for the organised sector.
Even though India has a huge laundry sector, a multi-billion dollar sector even, most of it is dominated by the local dhobis even today. They don’t need to spend any bucks for promotion to bring customers to them. Since they have the years of experience in their favor, many customers still don’t know any alternative to hand-washing clothes.
How can the organised laundry sector and the dhobi tradition be brought together?
Over the past years, many startups have started their business and have shut down without any noise. If we look closely at why this happens, we can pinpoint the primary reason for it. Since the organised laundry sector is comparatively quite new to the Indian market, customer acquisition is one thing they have to work hard on. Indians are quite comfortable with tradition, and so to break into the laundry market, the machine operated laundries need to keep some things in mind-
- It does not do well to barge headlong into anything without proper planning.
- The compulsiveness to prove themselves superior to the unorganized sector can be more harmful than beneficial.
- The key to venture into the laundry sector successfully is to work harmoniously with the local dhobis and plan on building an inclusive model.
The machine operated laundries are unquestionably the future of India’s laundry sector. But of course, the aim should always be to bring both tradition and modernism together to create a beneficial environment for all involved!