National Clothesline

Hugo Boss, maker of fine men’s and women’s clothing, and Cleveland’s London Cleaners, hosted 48 people representing 31 drycleaners from America’s Best Cleaners Oct. 4 for a tour of the 300,000-sq.-ft. plant where Boss makes 80 percent of its men ’s suits for the U.S. market.

Kirsten Saemmer, vice president of operations for Boss, opened the doors to her operation and showed the cleaners every step of the production process to making a suit.

Historically, cleaners and clothing manufacturers often have an adversarial relationship where items damaged in the cleaning process ended up back to the retailer/manufacturer. America ’s Best Cleaners seeks to bridge that gap by reaching out to manufacturers like Boss, believing that a better understanding of the manufacturing process will help a cleaner better understand how to care for the garments.

America’s Best Cleaners has done similar tours in Italy with Brioni, Zegna, and Ferragamo and 11 affiliates are going to Paris this month to visit high-end manufacturers, designers and retailers.

America’s Best Cleaners is a national certification organization that seeks the best cleaners in a market. To qualify as one of the best, a cleaner is subjected to monthly swatch tests with the Hohenstein Institute and yearly on-site inspections. The organization also hires secret shoppers who make surprise visits to check on the quality and service for each affiliate.

Recognizing 38 cleaners, America’s Best Cleaners is dedicated to learning, teaching and sharing the best practices of drycleaning which is an unregulated industry.

Alex Shvartssteyn of London Cleaners, was selected for the group in 2004 and has been recognized in Cleveland for his superb quality as well as nationally.

High-end clothing manufacturers like Boss welcome this type of quality standards which they subscribe to in their business and are anxious to work with high-end cleaners in a joint effort toward servicing a mutual customer base.

Besides the Hugo Boss factory tour, ABC had an affiliate meeting that welcomed Joe Paster of Kilgore Trout, a high-end Cleveland retailer, for a discussion of the upcoming fashions and styles in men ’s clothing and Mitch Gambert of L. Gambert Shirts, a custom shirt manufacturer speaking on the construction of shirts, covering the materials, the styles, buttons, trim, etc.

Davide Cotugno the incoming president of the Custom Tailors and Designers Association, discussed the construction elements of a custom suit as compared to a made-to-measure suit and/or a ready-to-wear suit. Dixie Lee Davis of Saks presented the “difficult to clean” styles appearing in the couture department of Saks.




							ABC cleaners tour Hugo Boss plant





	NOVEMBER 2007 This Issue Back Issues Classified Ads Dateline Resources Allied Trades Associations Instruction ABOUT US Home

							Hugo Boss, maker of fine men’s and women’s clothing, and Cleveland’s London Cleaners, hosted 48 people representing 31 drycleaners from America’s Best Cleaners Oct. 4 for a tour of the 300,000-sq.-ft. plant where Boss makes 80 percent of its men ’s suits for the U.S. market. Kirsten Saemmer, vice president of operations for Boss, opened the doors to her operation and showed the cleaners every step of the production process to making a suit. Historically, cleaners and clothing manufacturers often have an adversarial relationship where items damaged in the cleaning process ended up back to the retailer/manufacturer. America ’s Best Cleaners seeks to bridge that gap by reaching out to manufacturers like Boss, believing that a better understanding of the manufacturing process will help a cleaner better understand how to care for the garments. America’s Best Cleaners has done similar tours in Italy with Brioni, Zegna, and Ferragamo and 11 affiliates are going to Paris this month to visit high-end manufacturers, designers and retailers. America’s Best Cleaners is a national certification organization that seeks the best cleaners in a market. To qualify as one of the best, a cleaner is subjected to monthly swatch tests with the Hohenstein Institute and yearly on-site inspections. The organization also hires secret shoppers who make surprise visits to check on the quality and service for each affiliate. Recognizing 38 cleaners, America’s Best Cleaners is dedicated to learning, teaching and sharing the best practices of drycleaning which is an unregulated industry. Alex Shvartssteyn of London Cleaners, was selected for the group in 2004 and has been recognized in Cleveland for his superb quality as well as nationally. High-end clothing manufacturers like Boss welcome this type of quality standards which they subscribe to in their business and are anxious to work with high-end cleaners in a joint effort toward servicing a mutual customer base. Besides the Hugo Boss factory tour, ABC had an affiliate meeting that welcomed Joe Paster of Kilgore Trout, a high-end Cleveland retailer, for a discussion of the upcoming fashions and styles in men ’s clothing and Mitch Gambert of L. Gambert Shirts, a custom shirt manufacturer speaking on the construction of shirts, covering the materials, the styles, buttons, trim, etc. Davide Cotugno the incoming president of the Custom Tailors and Designers Association, discussed the construction elements of a custom suit as compared to a made-to-measure suit and/or a ready-to-wear suit. Dixie Lee Davis of Saks presented the “difficult to clean” styles appearing in the couture department of Saks.