Minneapolis-based Mulberrys Garment Care has launched its on-demand delivery services in the Dallas area with plans to open up brick and mortar stores in the near future.

Mulberrys offers clients a more modernized dry cleaning experience with boutique-esque retail locations, toxin-free and environmentally friendly cleaning services, biodegradable and recycled packaging, and a mobile app for scheduling on-demand laundry pick-ups with order tracking.

“All of this is really built around reimagining dry cleaning and laundry for the 21st century,” Mulberrys founder and CEO Dan Miller told Dallas Innovates.

“All of this is really built around reimagining dry cleaning and laundry for the 21st century.”

Dan Miller

Miller, who had suits frequently laundered while he worked as a management consultant, noticed the laundry and dry cleaning industry was stuck in the past.

“Your typical dry cleaner was kind of a dumpy shop buried in a strip mall, and a lot of the cleaners I went to didn’t even have a website let alone an app or any technology, and they closed early, and the clothes smelled like chemicals,” Miller said. “So I thought to myself, ‘you know there’s gotta be a better way here.’”

Mulberrys opened its first location in Minneapolis in 2009 and expanded into San Francisco two years ago.

DALLAS IS THIRD MARKET FOR MULBERRYS

Mulberrys founder and CEO Dan Miller [Photo courtesy of Mulberrys]

Dallas is Mulberrys’ third market expansion, funded by internal cash flow. The company, with a staff of around 120, has six locations in Minneapolis-St. Paul and 10 locations in San Francisco and Silicon Valley.

“We’re a little bit unique in that we’ve funded our entire growth process up to this point, which is a combination of friends and family and also debt financing,” Miller said. “We were fortunate that early on in our journey we were able to get profitable and cash flow positive. That’s allowed us to fund our growth with a combination of SBA loans and our own cash flow.”

Miller said Dallas’ large market size offering optimal opportunities for growth and its embracement of technology are key reasons for choosing the area for its next location. Fashion factored in as well.

“There’s really a fashion consciousness in Dallas that we like,” Miller said. “People take pride in how they look and have a great sense of style and fashion. Being in the dry cleaning and laundry industry, that’s great for us.”

“People take pride in how they look and have a great sense of style and fashion. Being in the dry cleaning and laundry industry, that’s great for us.”

Dan Miller

The company plans to open its first Dallas retail location by the end of the year and is scouting out potential spots in downtown, Uptown, Highland Park, Preston Hollow, and Plano. It plans to open four locations over the next 18 months in the Dallas area and has sights on expanding to other regions of Texas.

“I think the Dallas region for us can support between 20 and 30 stores,” Miller said.

The stores will have 24-hour drop doxes and also will provide tailoring and alterations, leather cleaning, and wedding dress restoration.

Mulberrys’ on-demand delivery service via its mobile app is up and running for the following Dallas ZIP codes with more to be added in the coming weeks: 75230, 75225, 75205, 75219, 75201, and 75204.

Mulberrys has a staff of drivers for the Dallas area and a local production facility to process orders.

“Our goal is really to become the first national dry cleaning and laundry brand in the country, so we intend to expand to every major market in the United States then secondary markets as well. And, our goal is to really be a full end-to-end garment care brand, both providing dry cleaning and laundry services, but also cleaning products as well,” Miller said.