Halifax, Nova Scotia

The Value of Family

Brothers Martin and Alan Jamieson purchased Deluxe Dry Cleaners in Halifax, NS in 1986 from its founders. 20 years later, Martin became the sole owner of the company. He had been joined by son Kyle a year earlier, and the company has now passed down to Kyle.

The company was nominated as one of our Best Plants for 2024 by August Garcia of GreenEarth.

We asked Kyle to tell us about Deluxe, and show us what makes the company special. Like most business owners, he was more than willing to comply.

Growing Up Clean

“I remember as a kid the dry cleaners was my day care, after school program and a part time job,” Kyle said. “The original wage my dad offered me as a kid was 1 cent per foamie or pant guard on a hanger. Growing up in a family dry cleaners was an interesting situation; watching the changes the company made from childhood to now was a great experience in the life cycle of a business.

“Today we are a smaller, tighter company with 1 plant, 3 depots (including our laundromat) and many contracts around the city with local tailors, laundromats and hotels. I’ve had the pleasure of working with my father, mother, sister, a few cousins, and a of couple uncles.

Nuts and Bolts

• 40- and 60-lb. GreenEarth dry cleaning machines
• Wet cleaning machines
• Roller presses for new linen business
• Hoffman and Sankosha presses
• 8 employees at the plant, 3 others at the laundromat and depots

What makes you stand out?

“Our biggest differentiation compared to local competitors is our commitment to greener dry cleaning,” Kyle said. “This began with our investment in our first GreenEarth machine in 2009 and continued with our conversion to 100% GreenEarth dry cleaning in 2015 with the purchase of our second machine. We increased our amount of wet cleaning since 2020, increased our recycling programs, began using re-useable garment bags and made a commitment to reducing our waste.”

Surviving and Thriving

“I think like most family businesses, the biggest issues was the succession of the company,” Kyle said. “My father built this company up to the point where it became one of the premier dry cleaners on the east coast. Through hard work (many hours and late dinners), investment, relationships and foresight he built a company of which to be proud.

“The transfer of ownership of any family business isn’t easy. It certainly wasn’t for us. After many discussions, agreements, arguments and concessions, we got it done. But I feel like, once everything was settled, we came out with a better relationship than ever. In a family business, that is your greatest asset and strength.”

Saluting the Best

We gave each nominee of this award the chance to call out specific people who made the company’s success what it is today. Kyle had no hesitation in naming names.

“It sounds cliché, but the people I would like to recognize would be my parents, Martin and Judy Jamieson” Kyle said. “Without my father, I honestly do not think Deluxe would have existed past 2006 when he took over. At the time he took sole possession of the company, he had been out of the industry for a couple years. His main problem was that the landlord of the location of our plant was not renewing our lease. My dad took what was ultimately a sinking ship and scoop by scoop bailed it out.

“My mother left her long-term job to join the company, and became a Swiss army knife–helping with everything from the books, to the counter, to the cleaning. Working with them for so many years was amazing.

“My dad has always been a family-first guy and every decision he’s made for the company, I believe, he made with all of us in mind. He moved our plant to our current location (doing the majority of the work himself), updated our equipment to more sustainable methods (mainly going 100% GreenEarth to avoid me having to deal with Perc when I took over) and put a team in place that I can rely on as he retires.

“Though we certainly have differing opinions on topics, everything I know about the industry — the equipment, cleaning, etc. — I learned from my dad. Without his knowledge and guidance there is no way this company would be as successful as it is today.

“I would like to wish both of them a happy retirement, as my mother retired officially in July of 2024 and my father has set his date for September of 2024. I know they’ll both still be around to support the company.”

Doubling Down for the Future

The industry landscape has changed significantly since 2020. Every company that survived the pandemic has a plan to keep going. What’s next for Deluxe?

“In the current state of the economy and the industry I think we are doing what a lot of dry cleaners need to do,” Kyle said. “Scaling back the operation, creating new relationships with local businesses and focusing on high quality at an affordable pricing.

“Before 2020, my plan when taking over the company from my father was to try and focus more on building the business at our main plant, while closing outlying depots. I had worked many of these depots and had seen from the ground they weren’t viable. Unfortunately, while these depots were the focal point of dry cleaning for decades past, they fail to be as helpful as they used to be. With the cost of rent and wages increasing, we found the margins were not worth the cost or time of running them.

“Covid hit and accelerated that clock. While closing locations that had been profitable for years didn’t make sense at the time, I think a lot of dry cleaners have seen more benefits at their main plants. The way forward is to partner with local businesses who can provide added-value services, such as tailor shops and laundromats in high traffic areas, while providing top notch customer service is the future.”

Bigger Vision

“A few months ago I was approached by the Canadian Fabricare Association and asked to join the board of directors as a representative of the East Coast,” Kyle said. “While I was skeptical of the advantage of an association when I was younger, as I got older I saw the benefits of having a nationwide organization representing the interests of all dry cleaners (whether you are a member or not.) Since joining the board, I have seen that many dry cleaners in Canada care deeply about our industry, its future and how we can adapt and overcome challenges and grow.

“I think the future of our industry is in dry cleaners across Canada coming together, sharing ideas, and helping each other. I look forward to the work we can all do together toward this common goal.”