"Hi coffee" driving downstairs in the community
Liu Jie is the founder of "Xika" self-service laundry coffee shop. She first came into contact with self-service laundry coffee shop when she was traveling abroad. Caf é Laundromat, located in Oslo, the capital of Norway, is a coffee laundromat integrating coffee and books. From old telephones and old desk lamps to comfortable retro furniture to brightly colored washing machines, every corner of the store is full of infinitely extending life fun. Even if you don’t have any clothes to wash, Caf é Laundromat is also a must-see when visiting Oslo. One of the check-in attractions.
After returning to Nanjing, she began to search for self-service laundry in the whole city, but she did not expect that this laundry coffee shop was still blank in Nanjing. This convenient and fast self-service laundry method has long been popular abroad, and it is also very popular in some cities in southern my country due to the inconvenience of drying. People have a real need for self-service laundry + drying. The form of "coffee + self-service laundry" Internet celebrity shop can become a new choice for young people.
Liu Jie set the location of the store in Danfeng Community, Xinglong Street, Hexi District, Nanjing. Compared with the traditional cafes located in commercial districts or office buildings, this store looks extremely grounded—not just downstairs in a residential area. , And next to it are also very lively shops such as chess and cards, flowers, nail art, fried chicken, and cakes.
When you walk into this self-service laundry coffee shop, you can see neatly erected washing machines and dryers. Although there are only two floors above and below, because of its huge size, more than a dozen devices are embedded in the entire wall, which is like a laundry room scene that often appears in American TV dramas. Each laundry equipment has a QR code, and customers can start self-service laundry by scanning the code. The cost is not expensive, around 20 yuan per barrel. The capacity of the washing machine in the "Xika" store can reach 20 kg, and it only takes half an hour to dry. The washing machine here not only has its own laundry detergent, but also has the function of ozone disinfection; the dryer can perform high-temperature disinfection, so customers do not need to worry about hygiene.
Walking in from the laundry area, the small shop reveals the original appearance of its cafe-warm yellow decoration, wooden furniture, low seats, cute plush toys, and random placement on the steps The soft cushions all create a relaxing and comfortable atmosphere. "It usually takes at least one hour to wash and dry. During this time, you can just have a cup of coffee or a dessert." Liu Jie hopes that coming to her store to wash clothes can become a very relaxing and very relaxing thing in the daily life of residents and friends. Comfortable thing, "wash your worries, drink a cup of coffee by the way, and take away the'ash' in life."
Comes with internet celebrity attributes
At the end of December 2019, not long after the store started preparations, it encountered the new crown pneumonia epidemic. The laundry equipment was purely imported. Liu Jie spent a total of more than 300,000 yuan, and many parts could not be shipped in due to the epidemic. So she opened the coffee shop first.
After the laundry equipment arrived in May 2020, the shop began to renovate and debug the equipment. One day, two girls rushed into the shop to drink coffee. After learning that this was the first laundry coffee shop in Nanjing, they were very interested in the self-service laundry room designed with two-story loft industrial style. shoot. Afterwards, one of the girls named "A Cinnamon Roll" posted photos of herself on the social platform, and this "laundry + coffee" shop unexpectedly became popular.
That’s why the 23-year-old Xiaoyao discovered "Hi Coffee". In order to check in, she and her best friend took the curtains and bed sheet at home and rushed over from another community 10 kilometers away. The value is attracted, but what makes me a loyal user in the end is its powerful washing and drying function."
There are many customers like Xiaoyao. After more than half a year of operation, Liu Jie found that compared with the attributes of online celebrity stores, customers seem to pay more attention to practicality. Those who come to the store regularly to wash clothes are mainly single boys born in the 90s and housewives. They feel that this method of washing is very convenient and saves time and cost.
Zhou Dazhi is a frequent visitor who lives in the community. He is used to ordering a latte first, and then stuffing the dirty clothes this week into the self-service washing machine. Smelling the aroma of laundry beads mixed with coffee beans, he would lazily nest in the sofa and brush up on American dramas. This is his most enjoyable afternoon tea time. He really likes the scene of three or five friends socializing in the laundry room in "Broken Sisters". When he was studying in Australia, he often chatted with his neighbors in the laundry room. After returning to Nanjing, he has been looking for a similar laundry room until he met "Hi Coffee", which happened to meet his dual needs for laundry and social interaction.
Wash away worries, but also wash out feelings
After the business started, many interesting customers came to Liu Jie's shop. Among them, there are a family of three from South Korea who came to China for tourism, and there are also blond, blue-eyed, handsome Frenchmen.
There is a young guy who takes a suitcase of clothes to the store to wash every half a month. After a long time, the people in the store became acquainted with the young man. Only then did Liu Jie know that the young man in front of him never did his own laundry at home. Before the shop downstairs opened, his clothes were always sent home to his mother for washing.
And what impressed Liu Jie the most was an older brother from another place. The "big brother from other places" originally came to Nanjing on a business trip, but the return trip was delayed due to the epidemic. The eldest brother thinks the hotel’s laundry service is too expensive, so he regularly takes the clothes to the store to wash. After going back and forth, after everyone was familiar with it, the eldest brother finally came over to say goodbye to the shop assistants when he was leaving.
At present, this business model focusing on solving the problem of large-scale washing and drying has won the favor of a group of customers. Towels in beauty salons, performance costumes for events, winter clothes that need to be dry-cleaned, and large items such as curtains, quilts, plush toys at home, have "visited" this small shop. Become a frequent visitor here.
“Especially during the rainy season a while ago, it’s a more trouble-free choice to come here for self-cleaning.” Liu Jie said that if it’s a working day, many office workers will come to wash their clothes at 7 or 8 in the evening and drink some coffee here. Take a break and wait until ninety o'clock before leaving.
In Liu Jie's view, the organic combination of self-service laundry and coffee actually unlocks a new way of life. "We store banners saying, called 'Wash your worries away.'" Liu Jie said, "I hope here, customers and friends not only wash away the trouble, but also wash out the feelings."
To facilitate distant regularly sent For laundry, Liu Jie also opened a "household" laundry service, and completed the washing and stacking service by express mail. "Express mail is very popular with customers, and it also breaks the limitations of geographic location." Liu Jie said. In the future, she will also launch a 24-hour self-service laundry room model after the customer source is stable. After registering as a regular member, you can unlock the door of the laundry room at night by scanning the code and perform full self-service laundry, which is for young people working overtime or The owner of the homestay provides more options.
Liu Jie learned that there is a laundromat called Wasbar in Ghent, Belgium, and its shape is even more novel. It combines the three formats of bar, laundry and barber shop, combined with the Belgian’s drinking habits, and through creative creativity, it allows guests to have a drink or cut their hair while waiting for the laundry to entertain. Integrate with practicality. The most special thing is that there are performances here every Sunday, which adds fun and truly interacts with consumers. It also makes Wasbar famous and completes the gorgeous turn from the self-service laundry room to the fashionable place. This is also the direction of Liu Jie's development when he opened his second "Hi Coffee" store.
