Sandeep Gajakas started his business on a shoestring budget. He developed the concept from scratch and introduced it in the market. Today, his Shoe Laundry has become a part of daily life for many.

Bitten early in life by the cleanliness bug, Sandeep Gajakas was a stickler for cleanliness, especially when it came to shoes. Back in college he had a habit of pestering everyone to keep their shoes clean. “My background of studying in a boarding school, NCC and fashion choreography inculcated a habit of clean shoes in me,” says Gajakas.
Gajakas realized that while rich guys buy expensive pairs of shoes, there was no service available to maintain them. “It was a just a thought, it never occurred to me that I would end up doing it myself. Every time I saw someone with a dirty pair of shoes, I saw that there was 100 bucks to be made in cleaning them.”
Gajakas, however, got swept up in the rat race after college, taking up jobs as a fashion choreographer, event manager and even a call center operator. Dissatisfied, he was motivated to do something different. “I was frustrated with call center job, but that was what pushed me to revisit the idea of starting a shoe laundry. If cleaning shoes gives me the utmost joy and also brings in a decent remuneration, then so be it.”
Convincing his father about this unconventional business idea was no easy task, as the senior Gajakas came from a completely different school of thought. So, without much support, he started out on his own by investing Rs. 7,000. He turned his bedroom into a shoe cleaning workshop and called it, aptly, Shoe Laundry. In hindsight the call centre job gave substance to Gajakas’s idea. “Looking at my colleagues at job, I realized there was a lot of disposable income that youngsters had and Rs. 100 to wash shoes will not be a big deal for many. If you provide a good service, I thought, India was ready for it.”
Gajakas was very cautious in the beginning since he had no role model to follow. “I had no one to learn from and I had to invent all the techniques and processes. Since shoes come in all shapes, sizes and material it could not be a one solution for all.”
The process was very slow and for Gajakas it was one of creation and not replication. The progression was very long drawn and the major problem was getting labor for the trade. “I do not have any institution that churns out trained manpower and it was on me to find a sincere and hardworking person willing to learn the job. Every shoe that I work with can be in the upwards of Rs. 5,000-Rs. 6,000 which meant I had to be very careful that I found the right kind of people.”
Competition was tough. In a country where maids do most of the cleaning, every maid in Mumbai happened to Gajakas’s competition. “People wanted to know why they should give me their shoes to clean for Rs 100 when a maid could do it for no additional charge. I was the new dish in town and my reply was you have to try my service to see if you like it,” said Gajakas.
As the initial results of the venture were good, Gajakas decided to send out his first advertisement in a newspaper. “At that time, I was handling delivery, cleaning and billing all by myself. Instead of confessing to people that I don’t have hands to help, I used to say our delivery boy is in a different area right now, so I will come and pick up your shoes myself,” says the 31-year-old.
While the newspaper ad did not draw customers right away, it did bring him callers who were curious to know if the ad was a prank; they couldn’t believe someone would seriously offer a service like this. Having piqued their interest, customers soon started trickling in and word-of-mouth publicity got the cash registers clinging. Gajakas soon shifted to a new location since his makeshift establishment at his house proved insufficient. “It so happened that some of my friends recommended my services to some stores so that they can get some after sales service in case of defects.”
Gajakas collects shoes from home, offices or virtually anywhere his customer maybe. Shoe Laundry now handles regular servicing for all the leading hospitals and 5-star hotels in Mumbai. The company now has a head count of 60 employees. Gajakas now wants to increase the volumes and touch several hundred shoes a day.
“I have grown by keeping my customers happy and I have been very fortunate. Initially when I started the business and ran it all alone, the sheer expression of surprise on the faces of my customers to get back clean shoes from me was what kept me going. Even when the number of shoes coming in for wash was just a trickle, I knew I had a good business model and it was only a matter of time,” he says.
Gajakas says he is in the phase of business where he wants to train the right kind of people to handle the increase in volumes.
“For me this business is not only about making money. I am happy that I am doing something different and unique. For a business which some may say is as frivolous as washing shoes, I have worked very hard and have not taken any leaves in many years,” says Gajakas. Initially, Gajakas used to charge Rs. 99 a pair. Today, he charges Rs. 160-Rs. 180 a pair, which includes pick-up from the client’s doorstep, washing and drying, replacement of worn-out laces, and the necessary repair and touch-ups to give the footwear a new lease on life.
Repairs are charged extra depending on the scope and extent of repairs required. Repair charges range from Rs. 20 for minor jobs to Rs. 400 for major and extensive repairs.
Franchising:
Within first month of starting this service Gajakas had a few franchise enquiries. “I have received hundreds of franchising enquiries over a period of eight years, even when franchising was not on the agenda. Having worked extremely hard and having pioneered, researched and standardized the system we have become the knowledge centre of this service \ business. I took a conscious decision to take the franchising route to take the service to other locations where there is a demand and need for such a service. Being a service-based business taking the franchising route allows us to expand and grow our brand more easily than having company owned branches,” says Gajakas.
Introducing a nonexistent, unheard service in the market had many challenges. There was no formal training or education available for such a service either. The most difficult part about this service was to develop and standardise all the methods and processes to launder and repairs all kinds of shoes, made of different materials and having all kinds of problem that nobody could resolve and in a fashion that was world class. “There was no standardisations of methods and processes for the same and the last 10 years have been more about research and development on a daily basis,” says Gajakas. Today Shoe Laundry has eight franchisees in Bangalore, Thimphu — Bhutan, Kenya, Surat, Indore, Pune, Coimbatore and Gurgaon. Gajakas says he is in the process of finalizing a few more and has several enquiries for franchise right now.
“Anybody looking to franchise a business that is unique, with no competition, good returns and with a relatively low investment The Shoe Laundry is the best option today. We provide our franchisees and their staff thorough training and complete transfer of all proprietary methods, techniques and hard earned knowledge and a readymade working system. Our franchisees get the affiliation of the brand that is considered the authority in the business. We provide an extremely simplified and easy to operate model to our franchisees and continual support as and when required,” says Gajakas.
Gajakas says he wants franchisees who are passionate about doing something different and delivering a world class service to the masses. “We want franchisees that have an understanding of great service and realise that sincerity, hard work and great customer service is the only way to succeed,” says Gajakas. The investment is in the range of Rs. 6.6 – 8 lakh and the space required is 350 – 400 sq. ft.