Dry cleaners to go upmarket

Johnsons Cleaners is closing its doors next month and being replaced with the upmarket brand Jeeves of Belgravia, which is also owned by the Johnson Service Group Plc.

Regular customers have been sent a mailing to inform them that Johnsons will close on June 3rd so I contacted the company to enquire when the re-branded store will open, why the company are making this change, what the main differences will be and whether the current staff will remain employed there.

Unfortunately I was told it is too early to answer my questions but I was sent the following statement.

A spokesperson at Johnson Cleaners said "I can confirm that Jeeves of Belgravia, London's finest dry cleaners, will be opening its first branch outside London in Alderley Edge in the future. At this stage we will not be disclosing any more information."

The opening of the Alderley Edge store is announced on their website, and customers of Johnsons are being informed in writing about their closure, so I hoped they would be able to answer some of my questions but when they are in a position to issue more information they will be in touch.

Manager Helen, who has worked at the shop for 12 years, and Assistant Manager Claire who has worked there for 9 years will continue to be employed by Johnsons. Helen will be moving to the Alderley Road branch in Wilmslow whilst Claire will be working in the Bramhall branch.

Claire told me "I'll be sad to leave Alderley. I started working here as a Saturday girl 9 years ago so I've got to know a lot of the customers, we both have. It's not just a dry cleaners, it's a community."

Named after the legendary P.G. Wodehouse character, Jeeves was founded in 1969 as a boutique dry cleaners located near Buckingham Palace. They now have ten branches, all located in London.