Value Drycleaners of America, LLC (VDA) announced recently that it has named Mike Weisel as president/CEO, overseeing its operations, as well as those of ZIPS Franchising LLC, franchisor of the ZIPS Cleaners brand, and Gemini Cleaners LLC, franchisor of the Mulberry’s Garment Care brand. His title applies to all three entities.
Weisel joined ZIPS in mid-2024 as vice president of operations and continuous improvement.
He previously held senior roles at Tide Cleaners, including franchise development director. He also spent two years at Rent the Runway as senior manager of drycleaning operations, and earlier ran his own drycleaning businesses for more than 30 years.
Weisel succeeds Bob Barry, who arrived in 2021 to strengthen and grow the ZIPS chain as the country emerged from the COVID pandemic and garment care faced the challenge of changing attire trends.
Barry is departing a much stronger organization than he inherited; he will shift his focus back to the restaurant/hospitality field where he spent much of his career.
“I am immensely honored to be granted the privilege of building on the leadership and success that Bob has brought to this company,” he said. “His will be tough shoes to fill, but I’m confident that my past experience coupled with such a strong, cohesive and dedicated corporate team and committed corps of franchisees will let us continue elevating our system and stores to achieve even greater success.”
Weisel also announced that Kathleen Razmus, a nine-year veteran of the ZIPS organization who most recently served as director of technology and IT security, will become vice president of IT, operations and training.
Jaici Kelly, who joined ZIPS in 2019 as store profitability manager and has served as franchise operations manager since 2024, will now hold the title of director of operations and store development, reporting to Razmus.
“Over the past two years I’ve worked closely with both Kathleen and Jaici and know they will both excel in these new roles,” said Weisel. “They both possess many years of experience at the store and corporate level, have the respect of our entire system, and are steadfast in their commitment to helping every location achieve its full potential. I am grateful to have them on our team.”