CD One Price Cleaners, the leading dry cleaning and laundry chain in the greater Chicago area has opened a new store at 5765 Northwest Highway in Crystal Lake (next to McDonald’s and Buffalo Wild Wings).
Kathryn Neader first became aware of the CD One Price Cleaners franchise opportunity after seeing a television commercial. Both she and her husband work as professionals, and she thought "one price dry cleaning--what a great idea." A few months later, local residents Brian and Kathryn Neader were given the opportunity to acquire the franchise rights to the store on Rte 14 in Crystal Lake, and they knew it was an opportunity they couldn’t resist. "We were looking for an opportunity to open a new business in the Fox River Valley area and after researching the franchise, the CD One Price Cleaners store was a great fit" said Brian Neader.
Both Brian and Kathryn are veterans of the corporate world. Brian has held executive positions with several international insurance companies, most recently as CFO of a large insurance company based in Des Plaines. Neader added "I never thought I would say this, but I’m not missing the corporate life--I am having a blast meeting new customers from our community every day." Kathryn Neader is an experienced entrepreneur and she and her family have
Owned and operated several businesses throughout the Fox River Valley. Kathryn and Brian now live 12 miles from Kathryn’s childhood home in Elgin. "I love this community and when looking for business opportunities we wanted to stay in this area. "
After exploring different opportunities, the Neaders focused in on the not so glamorous dry cleaning and laundry business. "It wasn’t first on our list, but we were impressed with the CD One Price Cleaners program and the value they offer consumers." CD One Price Cleaners stores offer dry cleaning services for any garments it accepts at a price point of $2.49 per garment. Brian Neader said "on average, prices at CD One Price Cleaners represent about a 65% savings from the traditional dry cleaner—that is pretty compelling during these challenging economic times." Due to their strong belief in the concept and business model, the Neaders made a decision to purchase a franchise and they’ve been pleased with their decision. "The initial 5-week training program was grueling, but we learned everything we needed to know about customer services, garment cleaning and pressing and overall store operations" said Brian. "When we made our decision to purchase a CD One Price Cleaners franchise, a positive factor was the fact that our franchisor’s corporate office is located in the Chicago land area – we liked the proximity to corporate headquarters" added Kathryn.
The Neaders are looking forward to immersing themselves in the local community. They have joined the Crystal Lake Chamber of Commerce, and are finding out how closely this community works together. "We know that the people of Crystal Lake and the surrounding towns are proud of where they live and so are we" said Brian. The Neaders are promoting CD One Price Cleaners on the local radio station Star 105.5., and will look for opportunities to become involved in local service organizations. "I feel that it is important to give back and support the local community whenever possible" Kathryn added.
Balancing responsibilities for managing the family business without impacting a happy home-life can sometimes be a challenge. "Brian is very active in the day-to-day operation of the business along with our daughter Caitlyn and I help out with local marketing, employee recruitment and everything else" said Kathryn. "We are a good team and we know when to stop talking about the store at the end of the day" Brian added.
The Crystal Lake CD One Price Cleaners store is one of 30 other stores for the Chicago based company. CD One Price Cleaners is the largest dry cleaning chain in the Chicago area. Developed with the customer in mind, CD One Price Cleaners offers a dry cleaning
"superstore" concept where all garments, men’s and woman’s are cleaned for a single "deep discounted" price. With streamlined production, same-day service at no extra charge, and quality customer service, CD One Price Cleaners is carving out a new niche in the dry cleaning industry. The company began offering franchises in 2006 and now 24 of the stores are owned by franchisees. "The Crystal Lake location is over ten miles from the nearest CD One Price Cleaners store and we feel that store will draw from a number of communities in the area" said Tom Ryan Vice President of Franchise Development for the company. CD One Price Cleaners recently announced that it is now offering franchises in the greater Boston area with plans to open the first franchise store later in this year.
