Chelsea Green Valet is a business that has grown to hold a sterling reputation as the most trusted launderer, dry cleaners and valet service in the Chelsea Green area of London and has made ripples in the wider industry having secured numerous accolades since its 2009 establishment. Speaking on The Leaders Council Podcast, director Billie Tossoun lifted the lid on the company’s origins, its illustrious history in its field, and plans for a successful future.
There is a strong family ethos rooted in the origins of the Chelsea Green Valet business. Sitting down with host, Scott Challinor, Tossoun told of how the company derived from a mother and daughter partnership and chose to bed down at a cosy West London location which had already housed another family-orientated business for many years.
Tossoun recalled: “In 2009, my mother and I decided to go into the laundry dry-cleaning business based essentially on two things. One of those things was my mother's experience. From childhood to becoming a young adult, she spent her time living in a flat on top of her parents’ dry-cleaning business, working in the reception after school and on Saturdays. So, she obviously had great experience within the area.
“Secondly, I was 29 at the time and came from a sales background. So together we could combine that industry experience and sales knowhow, which gave us great confidence to form a great business partnership. So, it really started from that.
“Cale Street Laundry located in the middle of Chelsea on the corner with Godfrey Street had been in the area and open for business since the 1950s. It had always been family owned for most of that time. So, we saw that as a sleepy London laundry situated in a high income and residentially populated area. We saw immense potential in that, and it really ticked all our boxes. So, we went on to agree to take over the premises and this is where our business proudly sits today.”
As is the case with many businesses, it did not transpire that the newly formed Chelsea Green Valet would become an overnight success. Indeed, it would take a lengthy journey of development for the company to grow before it multiplied its turnover from just £3,000 per week in its first year of trading, to the amount of £35,000 per week that it generates today.
In Tossoun’s view, one of the major changes within the business came in the form of a fixed income arrangement, after seeing the potential of striking long-lasting deals with other businesses in the local area which frequented their services.
Tossoun said: “In year one, we were making just £3,000 per week, or £150,000 per year. Now we're enjoying sales in excess of £35,000 pounds per week. We obviously had the retail business but I think something that we introduced which came as an absolute game changer was a fixed income element that came from trade business.
“At the time, I saw the potential of laundry in all aspects. So, for instance in Chelsea Green, there was a hairdressing business nearby and we used to always wash their towels and I thought that the costs were quite high and often inconsistent. Many local businesses using us had really high and fluctuating laundry costs so I thought we could develop a formula that would give them a fixed flat fee for us to do all of that work and then that could gain more business for us. Now, around £50,000 of our monthly revenue comes from that fixed income.”
For Chelsea Green Valet, the fixed monthly income also provided a degree of stability, which paved the way for the company to grow and develop moving forward.
“Having fixed income means that we don’t have to solely rely on that one-off retail trade. We can feel comfortable that all of our liabilities are paid month after month through our fixed income.”
Remarkably, this facet of the business helped give rise to business growth without having to siphon much of the company’s resources into market spend, with many clients approaching Chelsea Green Valet having heard about its services through word of mouth.
Tossoun explained: “The best form of advertising and the one we have mostly enjoyed and still do enjoy is word of mouth. That always comes from key customer service. For me, it is the best, most organic growth that any business can enjoy and very cost effective”.
As the business has grown, it has developed an excellent reputation locally and within the wider sector, enjoying numerous awards successes. The pinnacle of these accolades, as Tossoun revealed, would be success at the prestigious Laundry and Drycleaning Awards [LADAs], which are revered as the Oscars of the industry.
Tossoun said: “We are proud to say that we've won several industry awards over the last few years at Chelsea Green Valet. But for me, the most prestigious has to be a nationwide industry award for the laundry business, which is called a LADA [Laundry and Drycleaning Award], which we won last year. That was definitely one of my biggest highlights since we were in there among really well-established businesses in our sector that had triple or quadruple our revenue. So, to win that award was really quite something for us. It felt like the pinnacle at the time and it’s like winning an Oscar in our industry.”
Having successfully navigated some difficulties posed by the Covid-19 pandemic over the last two years, the LADA success for Tossoun came as due recognition. Now, she is determined for Chelsea Green Valet to consolidate and build on that success, with plans to expand the business in future.
“Acquisitions is something definitely that we are looking at. We are exploring one or two sleepy businesses that need reawakening, but another exciting thing for us is having a premises near Battersea Power Station nearby. It is in a great area and has huge, huge, huge potential and we have applied for a retail unit there, which will be close to our newly opened industrial site which has already increased our operational capacity.
“In the near future, it is all about looking at new sites and possible new acquisitions that are right for the growth of the business. We are really hoping to turbocharge the Chelsea Green Valet brand and take it to the next level over the coming years.”
Photo by Waldemar Brandt on Unsplash
