In 2004, when Marco Ceccarelli and his wife, Daniela Cavanna took over a small
laundry shop that dealt with pick-up and delivery, based in the center of Genova, he was working as an insurance agent and she was in advertising. They started from scratch, studied the laundry market, and over the next few years, they multiplied their business volumes by seven. They soon opened a lab, too. Then, they discovered new market niches and customers, and started cleaning theatre costumes for the “Notre Dame” theatre play by Cocciante (as loyal readers of Detergo)
Detergo has always provided us with numerous and precious guidelines” reveals Marco Ceccarelli, 51 years old, while speaking about the history of his dry-cleaning business called Colombo, that he runs with his wife, Daniela Cavanna in Genova.
The business has two different headquarters. The first one, a pick-up and delivery center, is based in Colombo Street, in the central part of the city near the market where everything started. The other one, a lab, is based in Piacenza Street where, during the pre-pandemic times, between cleaning a duvet for the pensioner living on the fourth floor and Mr. Bianchi’s shirts, also the Genova theatre costumes were regularly cleaned and ironed. The costumes were used in the famous “Notre Dame de Paris” musical based on the music scores by Riccardo Cocciante: hopefully the service will restart together with all the other types of jobs relating to the entertainment sector once the global health emergency is over.
Detergo is more than happy to have had a role in the creative lucky path of “Colombo”, which is a solid example of a textile care business starting from zero in the XXI century. As long as one chooses right solutions and seizes the right opportunities that the market can offer. “In our case – explains Ceccarelli – the big quality step consists of curtains treatment as we have learned how to do it extremely well and we can, therefore, offer excellent results to our customers. We have obtained important work orders from businesses asking us to clean their curtains regularly”.
It is not difficult to imagine the sense of intuition that this entrepreneur has as well as his intellectual curiosity and brilliant communication skills. Whereas Daniela’s talent for advertising has been reflected by the unique company logo created by her, a smiling dove holding a telescope just like the Genoese man called Cristoforo by name and “Colombo” by surname – historically renowned for the discovery of America. “Daniela’s previous professional experience was in advertising – says Ceccarelli – while I used to work for an insurance company for quite a long time”. “What is important to underline is that when we decided to open this shop back in 2004, neither of us had had any previous experience of working in a laundry”.
In 2004, a friend suggested that the couple should invest in a laundry with an idea to actually assign all the cleaning and ironing to third parties, which would also translate to smaller expenses and the possibility of increasing the number of customers with time. “We immediately understood that the shop was perfect for us. It had been opened a few years earlier in the very center of Genova, and put on sale by the owner who was going to retire – Ceccarelli recalls. – At the beginning, I kept my insurance job and continued both activities. Then, with time, the business volume grew and multiplied by seven in comparison to what we had in the beginning. So, we realized that it was possible to offer complete laundry services full time. Then, in 2008, we purchased a lab that had been founded in 1962. Currently, we give employment to two members of staff in the ironing station full time and we hire one seasonal worker in summer”.
“Starting the business was a challenge – admits Ceccarelli – but me and my wife like challenges. It was only about getting to understand whether the four years spent on the close collaboration with labs that worked with us were enough for us to learn about the job. Today, we can say yes while looking at the figures we have in hand and at the last three years without getting any complaint. Over the last seventeen years, we were sued once but we won the case at the Court”.
Having a conversation with Marco Ceccarelli helps to focus on the image of his dry-cleaning shop. A transparent and shimmering place where he meticulously carries out ordinary everyday work that reflects his artisan skill and the market prices the shop applies (presented by the website in a clear way). He also manages the extraordinary occasions such as the maintenance of carpets and curtains at companies headquarters or the treatment of theatre costumes for local companies or for the passing by ones. “Just like the one shooting a videoclip here some time ago. It was a great occasion to show the viewers the city of Genova” says Ceccarelli.
Words that remind us that Beauty needs to be “alive”, animated by anyone willing to contribute to it and exhibit it. Also, at a counter of Colombo dry-cleaner’s. •
by Stefano Ferrio
Detergo Magazine May 2021
