The Mayor of Cheshire East, Councilor Roger West, has officially opened the new branch of Jeeves of Belgravia in the village this morning.
The Alderley Edge branch, on London Road, is their first UK store outside of London and takes the firm's total to 12 stores in the UK and 38 in total with other branches in New York, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta and Istanbul.
Ray Lambert, managing director of Jeeves of Belgravia, said: "What started out as a small firm operating near Buckingham Palace in 1969 has grown into a global operation and this is a major milestone in the company's history. We have thought long and hard about our first expansion outside of London and kept coming back to Alderley Edge.
"The village is full of history and tradition, similar to ourselves, and is one of the most popular and fashionable places in Britain. Alderley Edge was the natural choice for us and we look forward to meeting and servicing the discerning clientele that resides here via our branch or free home collection and delivery service."
The new 1,200 sq ft branch welcomes four new recruits, with Andrew Kelly the new branch manager.
Jeeves of Belgravia, named after the legendary P.G Wodehouse character, was established in 1969 and is the Prince of Wales's garment care specialist of choice.
The business started as a boutique dry cleaners focused on high-quality clothes and fabric care, complemented by a discreet and attentive service. The menu of services has expanded since to include a variety of cleaning, repairs and alterations services including curtain cleaning, shoe and luggage repairs.
As part of the new opening, Jeeves of Belgravia is offering an introductory discount of 25% on all dry cleaning and laundry services until July 31st
The branch will be open on Monday to Saturday between the hours of 8.30am and 5.30pm.
Photo: (l-r) Tailoress Jay Chauhan, MD Ray Lambert, Mayor Cllr Roger West, Branch Manager Andrew Kelly and trainer Jackie Pain.
Comments
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Don't disagree about possible poor carbon footprint but let's face it Dry Cleaning is never a great process for the planet.
Dry Cleaning uses chemicals, such as Perc which are also known as Volaile Organic Compounds (VOCs). VOCs contribute to air pollution and can be harmful to human health. Relatively recent legislation aims to reduce the emission of VOCs during the cleaning process by applying emission limit values, but some are still created - alas.
Whether Jeeves is good or bad, as someone who has worked in the chemical industry for 25 years, I have to point out a few technical details (as I do to my A level chemistry students when their teachers' don’t explain the truth).
‘Perc’ is something you receive, albeit misspelt, when ‘on a door’ in a nightclub. Yes, perchloroethylene is used in dry-cleaning but Perk (short for Perklone, which is a formulation containing other compounds to remove fats i.e. sweat stains) is the industry brand, especially in the UK. It was an ICI brand name but perchloroethylene use for cleaning goes back scores of years. It’s in a family of compounds that include chloroform, which in itself has a range of applications including the fabrication of ‘non-stick’ pans through to the extraction of morphine for medicinal purposes. This family of compounds has transformed all our lives not least because, Versace silks would shrink using traditional soap.
Volatile Organic Compounds are, quite correctly, volatile (turn into a vapour state very easily), organic (in that they contain carbon and not because they are grown for Waitrose) and are compounds (they combine with other elements such oxygen and hydrogen). I know people in the Bubble Room who fit this description.
Yes, they contribute to air pollution but their greater impact is in the depletion of the ozone layer which caused the initiation of the Montreal Protocol, first opened for signature in 1987 i.e. not recent. I know because I closed ICI’s ‘Genklene’ plant, a VOC compound, during the ‘90s in response to this international agreement.
Need to point out though, greater pollution arises from driving a car with Nox etc. as all dry cleaners must recycle ‘Perk’. As for another subject, flatulent cows, well there’s a major global warming issue way beyond having suits cleaned 3 times at Johnsons to return them to whiteness.
PS I agree, to have a great dry-cleaners in the village is perfect, just needed to get the science sorted!