Increasing digitalisation brings with it a change in customer requirements. Demands are also evolving in the business customer sector: What is exemplified in the private customer business is increasingly expected in the business customer segment as well. Against this backdrop, CWS is now increasing its strategic investment in Jonny Fresh by around 5 per cent. The mobile laundry service offers CWS valuable insights into the digital private customer sector, and the company hopes to utilise this expertise for its business customers too.
Digital solutions offer increased efficiency and flexibility and have developed into a real competitive factor – including in the business customer sector. CWS is playing an active role in this development and utilising the digital transformation to accelerate and consolidate the Group’s growth. On the road to innovative, digital solutions reflecting the increasing requirements placed on services and products, CWS is also joining forces with partners and, for example, invested in the mobile laundry service Jonny Fresh in 2018. CWS is now increasing its share to around 16 per cent. The two co-investors ENGELHARDT KAUPP KIEFER & Co. and Lightfield Equity are also participating in this round of financing.
The Berlin-based start-up Jonny Fresh saves customers the trip to the laundrette by delivering clean clothes and textiles right to their door. The collection, washing and delivery of the clothes is coordinated via a digital platform and then actually performed by affiliated cleaning partners. CWS is particularly interested in the company’s expertise in the area of digital customer acquisition and services as well as the flexible service logistics in the private customer sector. “The increasing digitalisation of the business world means that customer requirements in the B2B sector are becoming increasingly similar to the experiences in the B2C sector. We are thus taking these digital and flexible offerings as our role models. For this reason, we want to benefit from Jonny Fresh’s expertise with regard to the Internet platform for private customers and, vice versa, impart our own knowledge from the business customer sector,” explained Adriana Nuneva, Chief Digital Officer at CWS.
In addition, CWS and Jonny Fresh are building a bridge between the business and private customer offerings, with the aim of CWS customers being able to offer their employees the Jonny Fresh delivery service (“B2B2C”). This offer is aimed at employees of medium-sized and large companies. There are already around 25,000 customers taking advantage of the Jonny Fresh service. “The fusion of the two business models and skills make it possible to leverage additional synergies”, continued Adriana Nuneva.
Jonny Fresh will primarily be investing the funds from the increase in capital in growing the business. “With this investment from our shareholders we want to continue to expand the digital delivery service for clean laundry in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, having also set ourselves the goal of becoming the market leader there,” explained Stefan Michaelis, CEO of Jonny Fresh.
Focus on digitalisation
The strategic investment in Jonny Fresh was a milestone on CWS’ “digital journey”. The company is also testing out online offerings and flexible contract terms for mats, for example, with “mattenprofi.de”. Its investment in the start-up “Fit Analytics” represented another of its first digital strategy initiatives.
About CWS
CWS contributes to a healthier and safer future with innovative, sustainable and digital rental solutions. The CWS offering is organised into products and services from the fields of Hygiene, Floor Care, Workwear, Fire Safety, Cleanrooms and Healthcare. All of the company’s solution areas have been operating together as a complete system provider under the name CWS since April 2019.
CWS is a brand of CWS-boco International GmbH and its subsidiaries. The Group currently employs around 10,800 people in 16 countries. In 2018, the CWS-boco Group generated a turnover of € 1,1 billion. Franz Haniel & Cie. GmbH holds an 82% share in the company and Rentokil Initial plc an 18% share.
Further information can be found at cws.com.
