Jongno Neat Laundry

Background

Minjun runs Jongno Neat, a dry cleaner his parents opened in 2003. The shop sits between two office buildings and used to do most of its volume on Monday mornings — regulars dropping off five to eight shirts from the weekend. During the pandemic, a lot of those customers moved to laundry-app subscriptions that picked up from their apartments. When offices reopened, maybe a third of them came back. Minjun's daily ticket count had dropped from around 62 items to around 38. He could feel the shop becoming a fallback instead of a default.

What we tried

We built a subscription-style bundle inside joayo: "5 items a week, 25% off," billed weekly, drop-off any weekday before 10:00, pickup ready by 18:00 the next day. Members got a simple in-app tracker — five slots, check them off as you drop. Cap of 80 members for the pilot. Pricing worked out to about ₩2,400 per shirt versus the apps' ₩3,100 to ₩3,600, plus the customer kept their clothes close to the office.

What happened

Sign-ups hit 43 in the first two weeks. By week six the bundle hit its 80-member cap with a 14-person waitlist. That's 400 guaranteed items per week — on top of Minjun's walk-in volume. Daily ticket count climbed from 38 back up to 64. Roughly 70% of members are office workers in the two buildings he sits between; he recognized about half of them from the old days.

The financial shift

The bigger change was predictability. Minjun used to estimate his week based on weather and vibes. Now he knows 400 items will come in regardless. He pre-orders hangers and solvent on a proper schedule, and his wife — who does the books — told him their monthly variance on revenue dropped from ±22% to ±6% within two months.

What Minjun says

"The apps weren't cheaper. They were easier to remember. That's it. People don't switch back for 300 won. They switch back when you make it as easy as the app. Five slots, one tap, done. My parents started this shop with paper tickets. I never thought the fix would be more paper — just digital."

What's next

Jongno Neat is testing a "suits + shirts" bundle for ₩34,000 a week aimed at courtroom lawyers in the nearby courthouse district. Early interest suggests the 40-member pilot cap will fill within three weeks.