DATELINE: HANOVER, MA... Lapels Dry Cleaning is reaching out to its customers during the dog days of the gas crisis. Looking at the total on a gasoline receipt can be painful. At Lapels Dry Cleaning, that same slip of paper can save customers money. The twenty-two Lapels stores in Eastern Massachusetts, along with the nine national Lapels stores, wanted to help their customers while generating more business so they started a promotion that will run through Labor Day:  When a customer brings in a gasoline receipt, they receive a discount on dry cleaning equal to 5 percent of that fuel bill. With the average price of gas at four dollars per gallon, that's a savings of twenty cents a gallon!

Fred Siegel, owner of the Lapels Dry Cleaning store in Hanover/Norwell has been getting a lot of buzz from his customers. "They think it is a great idea and are happy that we are doing something to help out." In Pomona, California the promotion has become so popular that not only existing customers started bringing in receipts, new customers arrived with gas slips in hand. Neighboring merchants are picking up on it as well.  One customer said, "Can I have the receipt back because I want to use it for Postal Annex," (a neighboring business).

Lapels Community Commitment

Being a good neighbor isn't just a slogan at Lapels Dry Cleaning, where community involvement is quickly becoming a tradition. They hold an annual clothing drive to benefiting the Big Brothers Big Sisters Foundation, with more stores than ever participating. In addition to conducting clothing drives, Lapels Dry Cleaning has also worked in conjunction with the American Red Cross to encourage blood donations through campaigns in their stores, and by sponsoring blood drives as well.

A Rising Star

In 2007, the New England Franchise Association ranked Lapels Dry Cleaning as #4 of the top ten Fastest Growing New England based Franchise Organizations and also ranked Lapels as one of the top 30 New England based Franchise Organizations. At the time the lists were compiled, there were 30 Lapels Franchises nation wide. As of this month, there are 45 Lapels Franchises either open or in the process of being opened.

In 2005, Lapels was ranked in Entrepreneur's "Franchise 500" as well as Entrepreneur's "Top 50 New Franchises," identifying Lapels as one of today's top franchise opportunities. Entrepreneur's "Franchise 500" is the best and most comprehensive rating of franchises in the world and is based on objective, quantifiable measures of a franchise operation.

Lapels has stores in Massachusetts (Abington, Bedford, Boston-Charles River Park, Brighton, Cambridge, Concord, Dedham, East Harwich, Easton, Framingham, Halifax, Hanover, Marshfield, Newtonville, Norton, Randolph, Salem, Sudbury, Taunton, Walpole, Westford, and Westwood); Rhode Island (Lincoln); Arizona (Peoria); California (Pomona); Texas (Arlington, Garland, Granbury and Plano); Washington (Kirkland); and Washington, DC. Coming soon to Orlando, FL; Hooksett, NH; San Diego, CA; Myrtle Beach, SC.

A full slate of services are offered at each Lapels Dry Cleaning store, including: same-day dry cleaning; shirt service; tailoring; shoe repair; wedding gown preservation; suede and leather processing; box storage and fur storage.

Lapels corporate offices are located at 962 Washington Street, Hanover, MA 02339.  To learn more about franchise opportunities with Lapels Dry Cleaning, call toll free (866) 695-2735 or email admin@lapelsdrycleaning.com. Additional information and up-to-date company news can also be found on the company's Web site, www.lapelsdrycleaning.com.