How a former sales manager built an 85-store laundry franchise across India

Who built it, and what they built

B.P. Singh founded Washmart, a laundry and dry-cleaning franchise chain headquartered in Noida, Uttar Pradesh. The company sells franchises as its core model while its stores handle pickup and delivery for customers.

The network now counts more than 85 stores across 21 states and 45 cities, reaching both Tier 1 and Tier 2 markets such as Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune, Patna, and Guwahati.

Where the idea came from

Singh spent time as a sales manager and later worked at Speed Queen Laundry, where he picked up working knowledge of the laundry and dry-cleaning trade. In August 2020 he decided to act on a long-held ambition to build a business and saw room to modernize India's laundry sector.

One figure stood out to him: 96% of the laundry industry was unorganized, which he read as a large opening for a professional operator. He began testing demand in August 2020 and reinvested early revenue back into the venture.

How they built the first version

The first store in Noida cost roughly 15 lakhs rupees to set up, with about 1 lakh going to legal fees and documentation. Getting the operation running meant sourcing washing machines and chemicals, securing water, electricity and space, and hiring staff.