FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Barry Gershenson
Executive Coordinator, LCI
310 734.6487

Leading Cleaners Internationale (LCI) Announces Five Star Couture Cleaner Recertification for Davis Imperial Cleaners

Chicago, IL (November, 2008), Leading Cleaners Internationale is honored to announce the recertification of Davis Imperial Cleaners into this most selective dry cleaning designation, the Five Star Certified Couture Cleaner.™

Voted “Best Couture Cleaner” by Chicago magazine and “Best Dry Cleaner” by The Chicago Reader, Davis Imperial Cleaners, a Chicago institution since 1956, is recognized by the garment industry and consumers alike to be one of the finest dry cleaners in the world. A certified environmental drycleaner, for the third year in a row, Davis Imperial is the proud recipient of the Award of Excellence from the Clothing Care Council in Washington D.C. and the first dry cleaner in the world to have achieved all the points of excellence including an on-site inspection of their facility receiving a perfect score!

In October, Davis Imperial underwent this most exhaustive and demanding certification program that assures each LCI affiliate delivers simply the finest couture cleaning and customer service available. “With 58 specific criteria to meet it was a major undertaking, but we can be sure we are reaching the level of quality and service our customers deserve” says Jordan Wood, General Manager and the third generation of Davis Imperial.

To assure the certification applicant can process designer and couture garments with confidence, extensive criteria was used to include not only the purity of their cleaning solutions, expertise in stain removal and the craftsmanship of the hand finishers but how the final product is packaged and the manner in which all customer issues are addressed. It is the stated goal of LCI’s Certified affiliates to deliver to the discerning public and garment retail industry a truly “Couture Cleaning Experience”.

“While it would be our goal to have an LCI certified affiliate in every city nationally and internationally, just any cleaner won’t do,” says Barry Gershenson, Executive Coordinator. “We are focusing our efforts on certification requirements that include: excellence in customer service and exclusive relationships with the finest retailers and manufacturers. LCI is not looking to bring cleaners up to our level of expertise, but continually seeking the finest operators, procedures, materials, and extending the state-of-the-art in dry cleaning to the couture cleaning concept”, Gershenson added.

Leading Cleaners Internationale offers two levels of certification for its Certified Couture Cleaner program. It took Davis Imperial many hours of continuous training and system evaluations to be certified top Five-Star level. The process included:

♦ Documentation of systems and procedures
♦ A comprehensive quality audit
♦ Monthly secret shopper visits
♦ Quarterly Cleaning Performance Tests
♦ Thorough review of data to substantiate satisfaction of the requirements

Second generation owners Lynda and Rick Wood concluded, “Consumers can now take the guessing and worry out of choosing a drycleaner to clean and restore their fine clothing andh ousehold items; retailers can feel safe to refer customers to a trusted LCI drycleaner; and designers can send their creations with confidence to an LCI Certified Couture Cleaner.™ Most important, all of our services are covered by LCI’s “Safe Cleaning Guarantee!”

Existing LCI licensed affiliate cleaners are located in New York, Chicago, Nashville, Baltimore, Dublin, Sacramento, Bakersfield, San Diego, Melbourne (AU) and Toronto. For more information, visit www.leadingcleaners.com.



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For a newsworthy interview about Davis Imperial Cleaners, contact Lynda Wood at 773.267.4560, (lynda@davisimperial.com)

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For a newsworthy interview about Leading Cleaners Internationale, contact Barry Gershenson at 310 734.6487, (barry.gershenson@leadingcleaners.com )