The past two years have been challenging for a lot of businesses across multiple industries. They have had to adapt and roll with the changes brought about by the pandemic.
One company that experienced growth and thrived during the pandemic is Spanish startup Jeff. Founded in 2015 by millennial entrepreneurs Eloi Gomez, Adrián Lorenzo, and Rubén Muñoz in Valencia, Spain, Jeff began with an innovative solution to answer the laundry needs of people all over the world.
It consisted of a physical laundry shop combined with an online platform and mobile app for home-delivery laundry. This business model has helped entrepreneurs and franchisees in many countries set up their own Jeff laundry shop.
Today, Jeff is present in 40 countries in the US, Latin America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
“In the Philippines, we have been able to keep almost all of the shops open during the pandemic. Most actually managed to perform above our expectations during the height of the pandemic,” says Gómez.
There are 37 Jeff laundry hubs in the Philippines and more are being set up. The company opened 18 hubs in 2021. “We feel very confident about the rest of 2022 and we are already helping our partner-entrepreneurs to find the best locations and build their shops as soon as possible. There is great engagement with our network and we work together on a daily basis in order to make sure that we deliver the best service to our customers,” he says.
Jeff’s goal is to open 10 more hubs in 2022, a challenging number Gómez admits but the company and its local partners are fully committed to reaching this number, if not more. “We provide all the necessary support to local franchisees. Undoubtedly, the omnichannel experience that we offer to our customers is our main strength. In addition to this, the commitment of the network of partners to deliver good service that positively affects the retention and the number of sales is crucial. Our team works closely with them to make sure that they are constantly improving their performance,” says Gomez.
Gómez explains the advantages of being a Jeff partner/franchisee. “Entrepreneurs who want to start a business with Jeff can take advantage of a model with everything they need to operate from day one. This is what we call ‘Business in a Box’ that includes international branding and promotional materials, training, industry knowledge, innovative business plans, marketing playbook and access to Jeff Academy, an online learning platform available to franchisees.”
In addition are three patented technology products: Jeff app for customers to schedule services; Jeff Suite, a unique management software designed to facilitate financial, technical, marketing and management needs; and the Jeff Driver app to manage all delivery needs.
“Despite the economic conditions the world over, Jeff has emerged stronger and is currently on a growth path,” Gómez says.
“We are a technology company and as such we use AI and data through our ‘Jeff Suite’ software to help entrepreneurs in their day-to-day business. This, added to a global multidisciplinary team has allowed us to have a presence in 40 countries plus recent openings in places like NY and Miami, Mykonos, UK or Cyprus.”
The company also signed a multi-unit contract in Switzerland that will allow them to open 46 stores in the next 5 years.
“The Philippines is one of our most important markets and our partners are doing an amazing job. We want to continue with our expansion in the country. An increase in the number of hubs will allow us to continue with this consolidation. Our main goal is to grow organically and based on our sales,” Gómez says.
“Globally, we want to strengthen our technology for entrepreneurs, break down the entry barriers to entrepreneurship, and that capital or know-how not be a problem to start an omnichannel business, i.e. online + offline,” he says.
