ZIPS Dry Cleaners Enlists Acclaimed Retail Design Firm

GREENBELT, MD, November 25, 2010

Continuing to anchor itself as the leader in the multi-billion dollar dry cleaning industry, ZIPS, an aggressively expanding national dry cleaning franchise chain with 26 locations on the East Coast, enlisted the nationally recognized retail design experts and architects at L2M to develop a new store prototype.

The new partnership will ensure consistent branding and further leverage economies of scale as the dry cleaning chain continues to expand within and outside its Mid-Atlantic hub. L2M, the firm behind countless design projects across the retail spectrum âEUR" including Panera Bread and Advanced Auto, among others âEUR" worked closely with ZIPS to combine their extensive brand development experience with ZIPSâEUR industry leading dry cleaning expertise to develop a unique and identifiable branding strategy and store layout.

âEURœWe took their existing, well-developed workflow design and helped identify uniform elements and systems that could be rolled-out as part of a national development model âEUR" a prototype,âEUR said Scot Loiselle, co-founder of L2M and lead architect for the project.

L2M also formed the prototype with the refinement and development of ZIPSâEUR national brand strategy in mind, with the ultimate aim of making the concept more recognizable and familiar.

âEURœWhen you see the Golden Arches, you donâEUR t need to see the sign to know whatâEUR s there; we sought to create that feeling with ZIPS,âEUR Loiselle said.

To that end, the architects and designers at L2M worked closely with ZIPSâEUR ad agency Hot Dish Advertising to translate ZIPSâEUR popular branding into the trade-dress of the âEURœbuilt environmentsâEUR in ZIPSâEUR stores. Reinforcement of ZIPSâEUR messaging is evident throughout the new design. The clean, stainless steel lettering of the logo highlights the efficiency of ZIPSâEUR business model, âEURœSmarter, Cheaper, Faster,âEUR while wood accents reference the high-quality of the service. The famous âEURœ$1.99 for any garmentâEUR and âEURœIn by 9, out by 5âEUR guarantees are featured prominently in signage and graphics on the front of each location.

âEURœWe sought to update the concept and relate to the customer in a standard and consistent way that speaks to the quality and efficiency of ZIPSâEUR service, the service that customers have come to know and love,âEUR Loiselle said.

The prototype, which was first implemented at the recently opened Lancaster, Pa. location, has also guided the construction of the soon-to-open Norfolk, Va. store. Implementation at these two new locations comes as ZIPS has eyed national expansion that will leverage this new design. A consistent prototype will mean the dry cleaning chain can begin negotiating national contracts with equipment vendors, manufacturers and distributors creating economies of scale that will make national expansion more efficient and cost-effective.

âEURœWe have always known that ZIPSâEUR business model had obvious national appeal and this new prototype brings us closer to expanding ZIPS into markets across the country in an aggressive fashion,âEUR said Andy Cucchiara, V.P. of Franchise Operations for ZIPS.



About ZIPS
ZIPS, which was founded in 1996 and began franchising in 2006, has 26 locations on the East Coast with additional stores opening this fall. The company offers a fixed price of $1.99 for any garment to be dry cleaned and $1.19 for any shirt to be laundered. ZIPS offers same day service âEURœIn by 9 out by 5âEUR with the motto, âEURœSmarter, Cheaper, Faster!âEUR Furthermore, ZIPS was founded as a cash only business that, by keeping prices low for consumers, provides a large volume of business consistently moving through each storeâEUR" up to 3,000 garments per day. And with less than 10 percent of total costs going toward supplies and inventory, ZIPS is proving to be a hot investment. For more information, go to http://www.321zips.com.