• Bloomberg, Thursday, September 2, 2010 10:50 AM

Andrew Cherng, founder of Panda Restaurant Group, tells Lauren Coleman-Lochner he plans to open about 150 Tide-branded dry cleaners over the next four years. "I wasn't around when McDonald's was taking franchisees," he says. "I'm not going to miss this one."

Procter & Gamble opened three test Tide dry cleaners in Kansas City in 2008 and is now going national with the concept, which heretofore has been "virtually unbranded," according to Michael Stone, head of The Beanstalk Group. "One would think consumers would trust a Tide Dry Cleaners because they know P&G is behind it," he says.

Among the consumer-friendly features developed by P&G's Agile Pursuit Franchising unit, which is headed by former PepsiCo franchising manager William Van Epps: each unit has a double-lane drive-through, lockers for after-hours pickup, lollipops for kids and Iams biscuits for the pooch.

Read the whole story at Bloomberg »