American Coin-Op - April 2019

STATE OF THE INDUSTRY

THROUGH ACQUISITION

GOIN’ WITH COHEN: COIN-OP COOL IS RED HOT

The Laundromat is being embraced like never before. Not just by those needing to wash, but also savvy marketers looking to make a splash. This once unassuming neighborhood institution finds itself being branded in surprising ways. Tag along with Laurance Cohen as he takes a look at some coin laundries that aren’t quite what they appear to be.

While there’ll be plenty to keep attendees busy on and around the Clean Show floor this June, host city New Orleans offers a world of culture where convention visitors can laissez les bons temps rouler—let the good times roll.

FROM PAULIE B:

THAT BOOST THE BOTTOM LINE

A CLOSER LOOK

A night out at The Laundromat, Morristown, N.J., means strolling past a corridor of decorative machines to reach the bar’s secret door.

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Bruce Beggs

DIVE INTO THE NUMBERS

STATE OF THE INDUSTRY SURVEY

This annual issue is one of my favorites, because it allows me to really dive into the numbers and see how our industry is doing.

You see, the State of the Industry Survey report—filled with 2018 data and 2019 forecasts—is a good barometer for you to use to measure the performance of your vended laundry business against others.

I analyzed survey results received from qualified respondents based around the country to provide a look at 2018-19 business conditions, equipment purchases, vend prices, turns per day, and much more.

Some of the questions answered are:

• What share of store owners saw their vended business increase last year, and by how much?

• What are the most common washer and dryer prices being charged today?

• What percentage of operators purchased new equipment last year or are planning to do so this year?

The report begins on page 6. Dig in!

CLEAN SHOW TRAVEL GUIDE

The Clean Show returns to New Orleans in June for the sixth time in the event’s 42-year history. If you’re planning to attend, there will be plenty to keep you busy during show days but what about after hours? Or in the days just before or just after the show?

To get you excited about visiting the Big Easy, we put together a Travel Guide that provides some tips for getting around the city and scratches the surface of the Crescent City culture built on food, spirits, music, and fun. Read all about it starting on page 22.

And if you haven’t booked your room at an official Clean Show hotel yet, you’d better get crackin’. May 20 is the housing reservation deadline.

Laissez les bons temps rouler—let the good times roll!

Bruce Beggs Editorial Director

Charles Thompson, Publisher

E-mail: cthompson@ATMags.com Phone: 312-361-1680

Donald Feinstein, Associate Publisher/ National Sales Director

E-mail: dfeinstein@ATMags.com Phone: 312-361-1682

Bruce Beggs, Editorial Director

E-mail: bbeggs@ATMags.com Phone: 312-361-1683

Roger Napiwocki, Production

Manager

Nathan Frerichs, Digital Media Director

E-mail: nfrerichs@ATMags.com Phone: 312-361-1681

ADVISORY BOARD

Kurt Archer Ann Hawkins Wayne Lewis Kathryn Q. Rowen

Main: 312-361-1700

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POSTMASTER, Send changes of address and form 3579 to American Coin-Op, Subscription Dept., 440 Quadrangle Drive, Suite E, Bolingbrook, IL 60440. Volume 60, number 4. Editorial, executive and advertising offices are at 650 West Lake Street, Suite 320, Chicago, IL 60661. Charles Thompson, President and Publisher. American Coin-Op is distributed selectively to owners, operators and managers of chain and individually owned coin-operated laundry establishments in the United States. The publisher reserves the right to reject any advertising for any reason.

© Copyright AMERICAN TRADE MAGAZINES LLC, 2019. Printed in U.S.A. No part of this publication may be transmitted or reproduced in any form, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher or his representative. American Coin-Op does not endorse, recommend or guarantee any article, product, service or information found within. Opinions expressed are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of American Coin-Op or its staff. While precautions have been taken to ensure the accuracy of the magazine’s contents at time of publication, neither the editors, publishers nor its agents can accept responsibility for damages or injury which may arise therefrom.

Annual Analysis Reveals Plenty of Positives

By Bruce Beggs, Editorial Director

Was 2018 a “good” year or a “bad” year for you? Is your pricing strategy in line with other store owners? Surely you chart the results of your self-service laundry business month by month. But how do you know if you stack up favorably with other laundry owners across town and around the country?

Answers to questions like these and more can be found in American Coin-Op’s annual State of the Industry survey, which offers store owners and operators a valuable opportunity to compare their operation to others in the industry.

This year’s survey focused on 2018-19 business conditions, pricing, equipment, common challenges, turns per day, and utilities cost.

When asked about their 2018 business results, respondents were given the opportunity to state whether their results were up, down or unchanged. This is a departure from pre-2012 surveys when respondents were asked only if their business was up or down. Keep this in mind as you’re making

comparisons to previous years’ results.

The survey was an unscientific, online poll of American Coin-Op readers who operate stores. Some percentages may not equal 100% due to rounding or other factors.

AUDIENCE BREAKDOWN

The dollars and cents can wait for a minute. Let’s examine the characteristics of those polled and their operations.

Roughly 56% of respondents own just one self-service laundry, while 44.5% are multi-store owners (20.4% of total respondents own two or three stores, 24.1% own four or more stores).

Approximately 44% of respondents own their store space, 35.2% rent their store space, and the remaining 20.4% say the arrangement varies by property.

Fully attended stores among the audience account for 35.2%. Roughly 26% are partially attended, and 20.4% are unattended. Among the remaining 18.5%, the arrangement varies by store.

Nearly 91% of laundry owners polled employ either full- or part-time workers in

their stores. Roughly 60% of those respondents have four or more employees, while 20.8% employ two or three. The remaining 18.8% have only one employee.

On average, responding store owners have 3.1 full-time employees and 8.4 parttime employees (this calculation reflects averages by respondent, not by store).

As for payment types, 88.9% of respondents say they offer coin, 33.3% offer card, and 14.8% offer other non-coin systems (store owners were asked to identify every type that applies to their operations). Roughly 31% of respondents offer customers more than one type of payment.

2018 BUSINESS VS. 2017

For 2018, 81.5% of operators say their overall vended laundry business increased from that of 2017. Specifically, these operators reported an increase in business (gross dollar volume) last year compared to 2017.

In our 2017-2018 survey, 77.5% reported an increase, while 61.1% reported seeing sales growth in the survey prior.

The average 2018 business increase was 9.9%, down from 9.4% in 2017. Other past average business increases have been 11.2% (2016), 9.6% (2015), 8.9% (2014), 9.6% (2013), 11.7% (2012), 11.5% (2011), 10.8% (2010), and 7.9% (2009).

Following is a breakdown of 2018 business increases (the figures relate to those reporting increases, not all respondents):

• Operators with a business increase of less than 10%: 45.5%

• Operators with a business increase

(Image Composite: Ingram Publishing and © iStockphoto/blackred)

of 10-14%: 29.5%

• Operators with a business increase of 15% or more: 25.0%

Just shy of 8% of operators faced a decrease in business (in gross dollar volume) in 2018, down from 10% in 2017. The percentage was 22% in 2016, 17% in 2015, 29% in 2014, 25% in 2013, 30% in 2012, 35% in 2011, 58% in 2010, and 59.8% in 2009.

The average 2018 business decrease in 2018 was 5.0%, down from the 6.7% decline reported for 2017. Other prior average decreases have been 9.1% (2016), 16.3% (2015), 6.6% (2014), 8.7% (2013), 9.5% (2012), 10.2% (2011), 11.2% (2010), and 13.7% (2009).

Among respondents who reported experiencing business decreases in 2018, none of the individual declines were greater than 7%.

Slightly more than 11% of respondents say their 2018 business was unchanged compared to 2017 business.

Based on these survey results, the selfservice laundry industry is, on average, quite healthy. The average business increase was half a percentage point higher than the year before, and the share of operators who enjoyed a better gross dollar volume was four percentage points higher.

The share of responding operators who saw 2018 business decline was a little more than 2% less than 2017’s accounting, plus the average business decrease in 2018 of 5.0% was less than the 6.7% reported for 2017.

NO DROP-OFF IN DROP-OFF

Drop-off service has been trending upward in recent years. While popular again in 2018, the share of operators seeing increased business in that category was not quite as high as the prior year.

Roughly 58% of operators reported that drop-off service business (in gross dollar volume) increased for them in 2018, compared to 68% in 2017, 61% in 2016 and 52% in 2015.

The average increase in drop-off service business last year was 29.8%, compared to 26.1% in 2017, 18% in 2016 and 13.7% in 2015.

Just shy of 10% of respondents saw a decrease in drop-off business. That compares to 16% in 2017, 6.5% in 2016 and 15% in 2015.

The average decline in drop-off service business in 2018 was 17.3%. This compares to 2017’s 7.8%, 2016’s 15% and 2015’s 16%. Other previous average declines have been 11.3% in 2014, 9.0% in 2013, 18.1% in 2012, 18.1% in 2011, 18.8% in 2010, and 24.2% in 2009.

Roughly 32% of respondents say their 2018 drop-off business was unchanged from the previous year. That compares to 16% for 2017, 35% for 2016 and 36% for 2015.

DROP-OFF PRICING

Current drop-off pricing (in dollars per pound) ranges from $1 to $2.50, based on the survey responses.

Following is a breakdown of the most popular drop-off service prices (per pound), followed by the percentage of operators who use them:

1. $1.00 (29.6%)

2. $1.25 (18.5%)

3. (tie) $1.20 and $1.50 (14.8%)

Overall prices for drop-off service remain consistent with previous years’ surveys. In total, 10 different drop-off prices were reported in this year’s survey (compared to 14 reported in last year’s poll).

Roughly 57% of operators who took the annual survey offer drop-off service,

compared to the 54% who responded to last year’s poll.

COMMERCIAL BUSINESS

Among store owners who offer commercial laundry services, 37.0% reported that business (in gross dollar volume) increased for them in 2018. The average increase was 12.6%.

Just shy of 8% of respondents saw a decrease in this category. The average drop in business was 15.0%.

Roughly 56% of respondents say their 2018 commercial laundry business was unchanged from the previous year.

VENDING VITALS

Although fewer respondents reported seeing better vending sales business (in gross dollar volume) in 2018, the average increase was greater than the previous year.

Roughly 56% of respondents reported their sales increased in 2018, a slight dip from the 60% who reported increases in 2017. Slightly more than 10% reported a decline in vending sales in 2018, compared to 12% for 2017. Operators reporting no change in vending sales for 2018 accounted for 33.3%, compared to 28.1% in the prior year’s survey.

The average vending sales increase was 14.3%, up from 2017 (12.7%). The average decrease in 2018 was 6.9%, compared to 12.3% reported for 2017.

HOW MUCH FOR A WASH?

Respondents were asked to report how much they charge for a variety of washes.

Approximately 61% of operators—the same percentage as the 2018 survey—offer top loaders at their store(s). The price range for a top-load wash is $1 to $3.65.

Here are the most popular top-load prices, followed by the percentage of respondents using them:

1. $2.50 (27.3%)

2. $2.75 (18.2%)

3. $2 and $3 (tie, 12.1%)

2019 prices for a top loader are slightly

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higher than the most popular prices of last year. The $2.50 and $2.75 prices finished two-three in popularity behind $2 in 2018.

The most popular prices for some of the small front loaders are:

• 18 pounds: $2.50

• 20 pounds: $2.75

• 25 pounds: $3.00

The lowest price reported in this group is $1.50 (18-pound washer) while the highest price is $5.50 (25-pound washer).

The price range for a 30-pound wash is $2.25 to $5.55. Following are the most popular 30-pound prices, along with the percentages of operators who use them:

1. $4.50 (20.7%)

2. $3, $3.50 and $4.25 (tie, 10.3%)

The price range for a 35-pound wash is $3.75 to $5.75. Following are the most popular 35-pound prices, along with percentages of operators who use them:

1. $4.25 (20%)

2. $4, $4.50 and $4.75 (tie, 13.3%)

The price range for a 40-pound wash is $3 to $7.35. Following are the most popular 40-pound prices, along with the percentages of operators who use them:

1. $5 (16.2%)

2. $4.75, $5.50 and $6 (tie, 13.5%)

The price range for a 50-pound wash is $4.25 to $7. Following are the most popular 50-pound prices, along with the percentages of operators who use them:

1. $6 and $6.50 (tie, 20%)

3. $5.50 and $5.75 (tie, 13.3%)

Prices for a 55-pound wash currently range from $4.50 to $9.

Of all the washer capacities, the 60-pounder has the broadest pricing, with 16 different base prices listed by respondents (by comparison, in last year’s survey, the number was 15).

The price range is $4.50 to $10. The most popular price for a 60-pound wash is $7, charged by 13.9% (the prior three years, the most popular price was $6.50). Second is a tie among $6, $6.75 and $8 (11.1% each).

Prices charged by operators for a

75-pound wash today range from as low as $6.50 to as high as $12. There is no clear No. 1 choice among this year’s respondents.

The price range for an 80-pound wash is $6.25 to $12.75. Following are the most popular 80-pound prices, along with the percentages of operators who use them:

1. $8.50 (17.4%)

2. $10 (13.0%)

3. $8, $8.25 and $9 (tie, 8.7%)

Prices charged by operators for a 100pound wash today range from $7.75 to $8.75. One operator offers a 125-pounder for $20.

Operators who respond to our unscientific survey vary year to year, which may reflect upon the variety of prices reported.

Respondents were asked to provide prices for front loaders of 14 traditional capacities, plus had the option to list others.

DRYER PRICES

Operators were asked to provide their current prices for their dryers as “25 cents for X minutes.” As in previous years, a variety of responses was reported.

Most popular among this year’s respondents—at 28.3%—is 25 cents for 6 minutes

(also the top choice in the previous two surveys). Second is 25-for-5 (23.9%), and third is 25-for-7 (13.0%). The order of most popular dryer prices was unchanged from 2018.

CHARGING MORE?

American Coin-Op asked respondents if they have already raised washer and/or dryer prices in 2019, or if they plan to do so before the end of the year.

Regarding washer prices, the majority of respondents (49.1%) say they have already raised prices, or intend to do so, by the end of the year. Roughly 30% say they have no such plans, and the remaining 20.8% are undecided.

In support of their decision to raise washer prices, many operators say they implemented (or will implement) the increase to cope with higher costs, among them utilities, rent and labor. Many store owners report increasing prices annually based on their rising costs. But in some cases, it is the first time certain operators have raised prices in as much as five years.

Regarding dryer prices, 67.9% of respondents say they have not raised prices, nor do they plan to do so by the end of the year (an additional share of about 2% offers free drying). Roughly 17% say they have raised, or plan to raise, their dryer prices. The remaining 13.2% are undecided.

TURNS PER DAY

Turns per day refers to the number of cycles (turns) that each of a store’s machines completes daily. For each machine class (top loader or front loader), you can cal-

culate this using total cycles for a one-week period divided by total number of machines in the class, then dividing by seven.

Currently, the average turns per day for top loaders amongst respondents is 3.5, up slightly from last year’s survey (3.2). For front loaders, the average number is also 3.5 turns per day, down from last year’s survey (3.9).

PURCHASED IN 2018

A little more than 48% of respondents purchased at least one piece of equipment (washer, dryer, water heater, vending machine, or other) in 2018, down from 50% in 2017.

Following is a breakdown of 2018 purchases by respondent. (Editor’s note: Percentages do not total 100% because some buyers purchased equipment in multiple equipment categories.)

• 11.1% purchased at least one top loader. The average purchase was 10.6 machines per operator. (Editor’s note: A 200-machine purchase by one owner was not included when calculating the average.)

• 31.5% of respondents purchased at least one front loader. The average purchase was 9.5 machines per operator. (Editor’s note: Singleowner purchases of 150 and 146 machines were not included when calculating the average.)

• 20.4% of respondents purchased at least one dryer (regular or stack). The average purchase was 8.8 machines per operator. (Editor’s note: Single-owner purchases of 72 and 34 machines were not included when calculating the average.)

• 14.8% of respondents purchased a water heater.

• 11.1% of respondents purchased a vending machine.

Changers and HVAC systems were also listed as having been purchased.

2019 SHOPPING LIST

Operators were asked if they purchased,

or plan to purchase, new equipment in 2019.

Approximately 44% of respondents plan to add some type of equipment (washer, dryer, water heater, vending machine, or other) to their mix, or have already done so, in 2019. By comparison, last year’s percentage was 38%.

Following is a breakdown of purchases operators have already made in 2019, or plan to make by the end of the year. (Editor’s note: Percentages do not total 100% because some buyers purchased/plan to purchase equipment in multiple equipment categories.):

• 5.6% of respondents have purchased, or plan to purchase, a new top loader this year. The average purchase is (or will be) 2.7 machines per operator.

• 31.5% of respondents have purchased, or plan to purchase, a new front loader this year. The average purchase is (or will be) 7.1 machines per operator. (Editor’s note: Singleowner purchases of 300 and 134 machines were not included when calculating the average.)

• 18.5% of respondents have purchased, or plan to purchase, a new dryer this year. The average purchase is (or will be) 10.8 machines per operator. (Editor’s note: Two single-owner purchases of 72 machines each were not included when calculating the average.)

BIGGEST CHALLENGES

What are your biggest challenges in operating your self-service laundry? American Coin-Op offered a list of eight, plus the chance to write in “other” choices, and asked operators to select all that applied.

Here are the results:

1. High cost of utilities (64.8%)

2. Find/keep good employees (42.6%)

3. Labor costs (31.5%)

4. Rental costs (25.9%)

5. Maintenance costs (22.2%)

6. Other (18.5%)

7. Too much competition (16.7%)

8. Equipment abuse/vandalism (11.1%)

9. Poor industry image (3.7%)

UTILITIES COST

Operators were asked about their 2018 utilities cost (as a percentage of gross). The responses ranged from 10% to 65%. Collectively, respondents paid an average of 21.7% for utilities (as a percentage of gross), up slightly from 20.3% last year.

The most common individual response was 18%. Whereas 51.7% of respondents reported a utilities cost of 20% or less last year, 57.8% reported the same this year.

For many operators, utilities account for their largest store expense; 75.9% of respondents place it either first or second on their list of five common expenses (rent, utilities, payroll, insurance, and loan payment for new equipment). Meanwhile, insurance is the smallest store expense, numbered four or five on the list by 84.3% of those polled.

FORECAST FOR 2019

Roughly 57% of respondents are optimistic that their 2019 total business will be better than 2018’s. About 35% expect business to be about the same, while roughly 7% say their business will not perform as well in 2019 as it did in 2018.

WITH COHEN Coin-op is Red Hot Cool

Marketers tie laundry to branding

Iby Laurance C ohen

f you thought laundry just meant cleaning clothes, think again. Washand-dry is magical in Chicago and musical in Tennessee. The uber-hip bar scene is drinking it up. And from the streets of Manhattan to the peaks of Montana, it’s making quite a fashion statement.

The Laundromat is being embraced like never before. Not just by those needing to wash, but also savvy marketers looking to make a splash. This once unassuming neighborhood institution finds itself being branded in surprising ways.

A TRUE SPEAKEASY

Coin-op cool dates back to Phil Akin, who blazed a trail in the 1980s by catapulting laundry onto the social scene with his iconic Duds ’n Suds franchise. More recently, Peter Rose’s Sunshine Laundromat & Pinball in Brooklyn pushed all the right buttons by making some coin at both washers and games.

Unlike Akin, Rose took his entertainment behind the scenes, riding the wave of laundry-inspired speakeasy venues — some with running water, some not.

At the Chicago Magic Lounge on the city’s north side, co-founder Joseph Cranford had something up his sleeve

when he unveiled his club last year. Yep, the old coin-op trick.

“The original concept of our theater was to have a guest experience that included a little misdirection from the start. We went to Manhattan and studied the speakeasy trend and fell in love with the idea of a faux facade business on the outside,” he says. “Since our project is about resurrecting a lost history of Chicago entertainment, we decided to push all in and place our history project inside a facade that spoke to the history of the building.”

Above the sidewalk near the front door hangs what appears to be a coin laundry calling card: a sign depicting a modern commercial washer.

“A true speakeasy doesn’t let you know what it is from the outside,” Cranford explains. “Do we put the name in big letters or do we have more fun with the public by creating a place you just have to know what it is in order to find it? We opted for the latter.”

Step inside Chicago Magic Lounge’s checkerboard foyer and showtime is preceded by wash time. Clothes toss about in working stack machines and fill a wire cart. The detergent bottles and vent pipes — right down to the wall-mounted bag vender — have all the trappings of a storefront laundry.

Architects and interior designers fashioned the creative workspace as a tip of the hat to the previous occupant, TenderCare Laundry Systems, which operated a commercial linen service from the light industrial space. Adding coin-op gadgetry helped open the door to engineer the lounge’s secretive entry.

When it first debuted, the mock laundry was manned by an actor, but later replaced with surveillance cameras. Cranford

Access to the Chicago Magic Lounge is hidden among the machines of an elaborate faux coin-op constructed inside the entertainment venue’s foyer. (Photo courtesy of Chicago Magic Lounge)

GOIN’ WITH COHEN

admits some clubgoers approached the challenge to gain access with “a bit of an escape room mentality,” tugging at loading doors and pushing all manner of controls. One even triggered a response from the fire department after setting off an active alarm.

“People absolutely love it,” Cranford says of the laundry trickery. “We’ve stayed clear of having press show how to open it, or what it looks like when it opens, so the mystery is preserved for everyone who comes in.”

It’s best to leave your sack of dirty clothes at home. Patrons stop in for the entertainment, not the equipment. Chicago Magic Lounge delivers close-up magic, delectable small plates and old-school cocktails served up in plush surroundings.

You won’t find any classic Blackstone washers at work here, but rather illusionists who mesmerize audiences just like Harry Blackstone did decades ago.

It goes without saying that nightclubs have little in common with coin-ops. Yet a trio of venues are selling the soap without really selling any soap.

DON’T BE FOOLED

San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood is now home to Young’s Kung Fu Theatre & Laundry, a new haunt where action movie posters and infinity mirrors set the mood. Take it all in from the lounge’s rotating couch while a bartender reaches for your favorite bottle hung from a drycleaning conveyor.

Over on the East Coast at Hop Sing Laundromat in Philadelphia, you’ll need

lots of quarters to sip a cocktail. Don’t expect to drop your drawers at this swanky speakeasystyle bar, just plenty of cash.

Be sure to leave a decent tip when paying the tab at this Laundromat. Online reports mention a growing list of banned individuals maintained by the owner and keeper of the gate who sets down the house rules at this ultra-exclusive Chinatown lounge.

And then there’s The Laundromat, two hours to the north in Morristown, New Jersey. From the bold lettering out front, you’ll be tempted to unload the trunk and head on in to tackle the chore. Don’t be fooled: The row of Gen 4 washers on your right and 32DG stacks to your left are merely window dressing at this popular speakeasy nightspot.

Pick the right machine and you’ll find the party in the cavernous lower-level bar that packs ’em in four nights a week with spirits, tasty fare and live bands.

TAKING THE MAIN STAGE

One industry manufacturer brought the Laundromat to the main stage. Last June’s Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival featured The LaundROO Lounge and Vintage Clothing Swap Powered by LG.

Concertgoers were encouraged to get down and dirty without worrying about cleaning up the mess. A pop-up laundry on-site boasted a lineup of 50 commercial LG washers and dryers manned by staffers to tackle hundreds of loads dropped off and professionally processed free of charge.

In addition to the complimentary washdry-fold, the LaundRoo tent offered music lovers a respite from the sun to unwind, recharge and stroll the clothing swap racks.

Staged in Manchester, Tennessee, the

A night out at The Laundromat, Morristown, New Jersey, means strolling past a corridor of decorative machines to reach the bar’s secret door. (Photo courtesy of The Laundromat)

The Laundromat in Morristown, New Jersey, is a speakeasy-style bar that plays up the coin-op theme in its branding. (Photo courtesy of The Laundromat)

A concealed stairwell at The Laundromat leads patrons to the party on the lower level. (Photo courtesy of The Laundromat)

festival attracted more than 65,000 fans, soaking in the warm weather and cool vibes of live rock, bluegrass, country and alternative music performances.

LG says that after the four-day event wound down, the unused clothes, lounge furniture and laundry room products were

donated to the United Way in Clarksville, where the manufacturer was gearing up for the opening of an assembly facility.

When clothier American Eagle Outfitters celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2017, it went all out with an elaborate remodel of its Union Square location in the heart of

New York City. The futuristic AE Studio showcases jeans and other distinctive clothing lines in an environment that encourages engagement between the retailer and its customers.

Helping to build that connection is a fully operational laundry wall contain-

Manufacturer LG took laundry to the main stage with free drop-off service and backed it up with a clothing swap tent at the popular Bonnaroo festival. (Photo courtesy of LG)

GOIN’ WITH COHEN

ing a row of commercial multi-load stack washer-dryers ready for use.

AE says it designed the in-store laundry to give students a free place to wash, study and hang with friends. The adjacent studio bar and seating area overlooks Union Square’s hustle and bustle, providing a perfect vantage point to pass the time while running a load of denim and skivvies on the house.

In addition to the laundry corner, the apparel store features dressing rooms equipped with concierge iPads, as well as collaboration space to introduce collections from emerging designers.

IN NAME ONLY

Washers and dryers inside a tony Manhattan retailer is one way to distinguish your image. So how about a printing company called The Coin Laundry that is neither a Laundromat nor trades in coin laundry-related items?

Jennifer Ford’s screen printing business bears our industry name and meticulously folds cotton fabric as well as the best store attendant, but don’t confuse her with any of Montana’s real coin-ops.

Ford pursued a passion for design a decade ago after her theatrical career in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, was impacted by

an economic slowdown. It was there that a weathered sign above a coin-op caught her eye and became the inspiration for a handmade brand of personalized towels, totes and tees offered up on an online store, thecoinlaundryprintshop.com

While her collection might not be laundry-centric, there’s plenty of whimsical selections, including an “I Believe I Can Pie” kitchen towel and “Call Your Mother” tote bag.

The Coin Laundry’s presence on the web does invite an occasional solicitation for the latest and greatest energy-saving equipment from salesmen who are under the impres-

sion she washes and irons rather than prints and presses.

She takes the calls in stride. Other inquiries — those from residents seeking laundering tips — do, however, leave her at a loss for words.

“I get e-mails asking me how to get stains out,” Ford says. “I’m not a Laundromat, I really don’t know. I feel bad, but I can’t help them.”

ACO

Laurance Cohen crisscrosses the country seeking out the most unique vended laundries. He served as American Coin-Op editor in the early 1990s and currently operates Laundry Marketing Concepts based in Hallandale Beach, Fla. He can be reached at goinwithcohen@outlook.com.

Where else but in New York City can you use stack washer-dryers on the house in a tony retail store? (Photo courtesy of American Eagle Outfitters)

LaundROO Lounge staff kept concert fans clean with complimentary bundle service at a 50-machine pop-up laundry at last year’s Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Tennessee. (Photo courtesy of LG)

Montana’s own The Coin Laundry turns out whimsical screen-printed items like the “Call Your Mother” tote bag. (Photo courtesy of thecoinlaundryprintshop.com)

UPCOMING EVENTS

APRIL

3 Laundry One Dexter

Basic Service School

Canal Winchester, Ohio Info: 800-800-0322; https://www.laundryone.com/ eventregistration/

4 Laundry One Dexter

Advanced Service School

Canal Winchester, Ohio Info: 800-800-0322; https://www.laundryone.com/ eventregistration/

11 CLA Connect LIVEMassachusetts

Burlington, Mass. Info: 630-953-7920; tanisha@coinlaundry.org

17 CLA Connect LIVEOhio

Columbus, Ohio Info: 630-953-7920; tanisha@coinlaundry.org

18 CLA Connect LIVEMinnesota

Minneapolis, Minn. Info: 630-953-7920; tanisha@coinlaundry.org

24 A C Power Co. Spring Open House

Feasterville-Trevose, Pa. Info: 800-362-1900

24 Continental Girbau West Service School

Santa Fe Springs, Calif. Info: http://cg-west.com/

about/news-events.html

24 HK Laundry 13th Annual Sales Extravaganza Danbury, Conn. Info: 800-229-4572; donna@hklaundry.com

30 Star Distributing Spring Show

Knoxville, Tenn. Info: 800-897-7570; www.stardistributing.com

MAY 2 Star Distributing Spring Show Nashville, Tenn. Info: 800-897-7570; www.stardistributing.com ACO

Clean Show Travel Guide

GOOD TIMESRoll Let the !

What to do while visiting New Orleans

The Clean Show—officially the World Educational Congress for Laundering and Dry Cleaning—returns to the Crescent City this summer for the sixth time in the show’s 42-year history.

As this issue went to press, more than 400 companies from the laundry and drycleaning industry were registered to exhibit their products and services June 20-23 at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.

While there’ll be plenty to keep attendees busy on and around the show floor, the Big Easy offers a world of culture where convention visitors can laissez les bons temps rouler—let the good times roll.

With thanks to NewOrleans.com, the official website for the city’s tourism industry, and Clean Show manager Riddle & Associates, we share just a bit about what The Birthplace of Jazz has to offer.

GETTING THERE, GETTING AROUND

There are plenty of flights into New Orleans, with 13 airlines operating out of Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. A new $1 billion, 35-gate terminal complex is expected to open there in May.

Airport Shuttle Inc. is the official ground transportation for the airport, with service to and from New Orleans’ hotels and other designated locations. Fare is $24 per person

one way, and a discounted $44-per-person round trip is now available.

Ride-sharing services Uber and Lyft can pick up passengers at a designated spot on the bottom level of the airport parking garage, across the street from baggage claim. Trips to and from the airport with start and end locations in Orleans Parish are a minimum of $33.

There are more than 1,200 taxis available on New Orleans’ streets and at major hotels. Taxi rates are $3.50 plus $0.30 per one-eighth mile thereafter; there is an added $1 charge per passenger after the first passenger. A fixed rate of $36 (one to two people) is charged from the airport to most areas of New Orleans. For parties of more than two, the fare is $15 per person.

The city’s Regional Transit Authority offers bus transportation, streetcars, and more. Standard oneway fares are $1.25.

Thirty-three bus and streetcar lines are running daily, and bus service allows transportation throughout the city’s major corridor.

During the Clean Show, complimentary shuttle bus service to and from the Morial Convention Center is provided at the event’s headquarter hotels. All other Clean 2019 hotels (except those within walking distance of the Convention Center) are within two blocks of a shuttle pick-

Bourbon Street, in the French Quarter, is where all New Orleans goes to have fun. (Photo courtesy New Orleans Convention & Visitors Bureau/Zack Smith)

Every night, Preservation Hall presents intimate, acoustic concerts featuring bands made up of some of the city’s top jazz musicians. (Photo courtesy New Orleans Convention & Visitors Bureau/Zack Smith)

up point. Shuttle bus service is only for participants staying at one of the official hotels. Attendees with special needs staying at an official hotel not directly picked up by shuttle service can call the shuttle company for assistance.

IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD

The world famous French Quarter is New Orleans’ best-known neighborhood, but there are plenty of other areas worthy of exploration if your schedule permits.

The French Quarter — There are so many ways to see this historic area, including mule-drawn carriage and guided or self-guided tours. Bourbon Street is where all New Orleans goes to have fun. Closed to vehicles at night to accommodate nonstop partying, you can stop in at the many jazz and blues clubs for a drink, eat at one of its famous restaurants, and mingle with a crowd of partygoers. In contrast, Royal Street — just a block away — is where you will find New Orleans’ sophisticated antique shops.

On the east side of the Quarter is the French Market and open-air Flea Market. Shoppers can browse and bargain for a mind-boggling array of goods, native and imported, for as long as endurance and wallet will allow. Vendors are happy to tell stories about their wares, be they native ’gator heads, African artifacts, or bounteous collections of T-shirts and Mardi Gras souvenirs.

In the heart of the French Quarter is renowned Jackson Square, an eclectic enclave of artists and musicians, horsedrawn carriages, and visitors from around

the world. Visitors gather at the fences around St. Louis Cathedral, said to be the oldest active cathedral in the U.S., and the statue of Andrew Jackson that gives the square its name. Nearby is historic Jax Brewery, now home to a multitude of shops and restaurants.

Uptown and The Garden District — From the Jazz Market to the Audubon Zoo, Uptown’s world is a New Orleans one where limestone mansions mix with modest homes on Mardi Gras parade routes. The fashion’s forward on Magazine Street but restaurants like Commander’s (locals drop the “Palace”) still celebrate classic Louisiana.

Warehouse/Arts District — This area embodies New Orleans now, a community celebrating and reimagining its culture. Residential lofts, museums, restaurants and art galleries find a perch in a neighborhood more brick than wood, more open than shut.

The Marigny and Bywater — A vibrant art scene, with local artisans’ galleries, funky live music venues, and art markets, embodies the essence of these adjacent neighborhoods. The food scene here is mixed with trendy spots and locally founded, casual digs. You can explore the St.

Claude Art District, Crescent Park on the riverfront, and more.

Central Business District/Downtown — Downtown New Orleans and its Central Business District (CBD) has been reborn. Nightly now, the Mercedes Benz SuperDome dazzles in ever-changing hues while a construction surge confuses oldtimers accustomed to parking lots where bistros and apartments now rise. Harrah’s Casino anchors the area.

To learn more, visit www.neworleans. com/plan/neighborhoods/.

SEE THE SIGHTS

With your time in New Orleans limited, embarking on some sort of tour might be the most efficient way to take in the sights. And, boy, does this city have plenty of options for you. There are French Quarter tours, history/heritage tours, plantation tours, swamp tours, culinary tours, garden tours, cocktail tours, night tours, and, yes, even haunted tours.

And while sightseeing, be sure to consider taking in these top area attractions: National WWII Museum — A must-see for history lovers and all patriots, powerful images and extraordinary artifacts bring to life the American Spirit, the courage, teamwork and sacrifice of the young men and women who won the war and changed the world. From the 1930s prelude to war, to the Normandy Invasion and the battles of the Pacific Islands, visitors trace America’s role in the war and on the Home Front.

Steamboat Natchez — Harbor jazz brunch and dinner jazz cruises are available on the last authentic steamboat on the Mississippi River. Enjoy a unique visit to the engine room to see the workings of 100-year-old steam engines.

Café au lait and beignets is a popular breakfast choice at the original Café du Monde in the French Market. (Photo courtesy New Orleans Convention & Visitors Bureau/Todd Coleman)

Become immersed in an underwater world at the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas. (Photo courtesy New Orleans Convention & Visitors Bureau/Zack Smith)

Eat, Drink and Get Active

Equipment manufacturer Pellerin Milnor Corp. is headquartered in the nearby suburb of Kenner, so advertising coordinator Alyssa Kelly asked around and compiled this list of local favorites to share:

• Bacchanal Wine, 600 Poland Ave. Purchase wine from their store, create your own cheese plate, and listen to music in their backyard.

• Carousel Bar, at the Hotel Monteleone, 214 Royal St. Take a spin on the bright, 25-seat, circus-clad carousel in New Orleans’ only revolving bar.

• Hansen’s Sno-Bliz, 4801 Tchoupitoulas St. Shaved ice in many flavors. Great for a New Orleans summer.

• Jacques-Imo’s, 8324 Oak St. Quirky, mural-lined hot spot serves Creole soul food. No reservations unless party is five or more.

• Johnny Sanchez, 930 Poydras St. Inventive Mexican eats and drinks in a chic, original venue with high ceilings and a tattoo-art wall; try the cauliflower taco.

• Juan’s Flying Burrito, four locations. Creole-tinged Tex-Mex; pork and slaw tacos are recommended, as are their frozen margaritas.

• Manolito, 508 Dumaine St. Cuban cuisine and frozen cocktails in an intimate, bi-level space with a homey ambiance.

• Muriel’s Jackson Square, 801 Chartres St. The shrimp and goat cheese crepes are highly recommended.

• Paladar 511, 511 Marigny St. Open evenings and for weekend brunch. Features housemade pastas, pizza, gulf seafood and seasonal local produce.

• Urban South Brewery, 1645 Tchoupi-

toulas St. Combines heritage of European beer making with brashness of new American styles.

• Blue Bikes (https://bluebikesnola.com). Bike sharing program throughout the city.

• Cajun Encounters Swamp Tour (www. cajunencounters.com). In Slidell but shuttles from downtown are offered.

• Frenchmen Street. Many venues offering live music line this street.

• Fulton Alley (www.fultonalley.com). Bowling.

• New Orleans Historic Voodoo Museum (www.voodoomuseum.com).

• New Orleans Museum of Art Sculpture Garden (https://noma.org/sculpturegarden/background). More than 60 sculptures dot this 5-acre area. ACO

New Orleans Museum of Art — The museum hosts a permanent collection of almost 40,000 objects, noted for strengths in French and American art, photography, glass, and African and Japanese works.

Audubon Aquarium of the Americas — Become immersed in an underwater world. The colors of the Great Maya Reef come alive in the walk-through tunnel, while penguins and Southern Sea otters will delight. Touch a sting ray, feed a parakeet, and marvel at gigantic sharks and rays in the 400,000-gallon Gulf of Mexico Exhibit.

Audubon Zoo — The zoo offers an exotic mix of animals from around the globe, engaging educational programs, handson animal encounters and lush gardens.

Unique natural habitat exhibits such as the award-winning Louisiana Swamp and Jaguar Jungle showcase the relationship between people and nature.

GRAB A BITE

From sophisticated Creole to stick-toyour-ribs Cajun, the New Orleans cuisine is unrivaled and takes advantage of the plentiful seafood of the region: shrimp, redfish, crawfish, catfish and oysters. No visit is complete without a sampling of such local staples as red beans and rice, the various gumbos and etouffees, jambalaya, sausages, shrimp remoulade, and, of course, sugarysweet pralines.

Dinner at Antoine’s, established in 1840,

is a tradition. Equally famous are Arnaud’s, Court of Two Sisters, Galatoire’s, K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen, and Mr. B’s Bistro, to name just a few.

Breakfast at Brennan’s, where Bananas Foster was made famous, is another tradition, but be ready to savor it over two hours or more. For lighter morning fare, a “must” is café au lait (Cajun coffee with milk) and beignets (square, sugary doughnuts) at the original Café du Monde in the French Market. Mother’s is the place to find locals having their power breakfast.

For a quick and hearty meal, try an original muffuletta sandwich where it was invented, at the Central Grocery on Decatur Street. Mulate’s, across the street from the Convention Center, offers fine Cajun food, music and dancing. And be sure to stand at the raw bar at Felix’s or Acme Oyster House to sample plump and delicious oysters.

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

The warm welcome extended by New Orleans likely will be matched by the weather. It will likely be balmy during the Clean Show (daytime highs in mid- to late June average 89 F), though evening breezes may moderate temperatures somewhat. Dress comfortably in light clothing and avoid overexertion. Air-conditioned havens, in the form of cafés, bars and coffee shops, will offer respite. And by all means, wear comfortable shoes — both for sightseeing and for the exhibit floor. ACO

In the heart of the French Quarter is renowned Jackson Square, an eclectic enclave of artists and musicians, horsedrawn carriages, and visitors from around the world. (Photo courtesy New Orleans Convention & Visitors Bureau/Jeff Anding)

GROWING THROUGH ACQUISITION

Perhaps you are a vended laundry owner with a year or so under your belt, or maybe a seasoned veteran with operations, marketing and maintenance soundly in hand. Is it time to think about a second store?

How do you know if you are ready? How do you know if it’s financially feasible?

The bottom line is if you manage your store effectively and have a vision of scaling operations, today’s manufacturer financing packages can make adding a second store far more possible than you think. But financing is only one aspect of duplicating your success in a second location.

TIMING IS EVERYTHING

It goes without saying that if you are having any issues in your current vended laundry, adding a second store isn’t a great idea. So, the first step is to take an accounting of your current operation. If it is successful and, after paying your expenses, you are turning a net profit, financially, that’s a good start.

While financial liquidity is a plus and can help speed the next store along, success in the business will weigh heavily. Solid equity built up in your current location will assist in obtaining financing.

Take a personal accounting as well. In this business, experience counts. Having a couple years in the Laundromat game means you have gone through up and down cycles. Note what you’ve learned and any mistakes you made that you will sidestep this time around.

BENEFITS TO ACQUISITIONS

There’s little debating that buying an existing business is infinitely easier than building a new store from the ground up.

For starters, you are buying something that is already running. Even if you decide to wait on retooling, the business is already earning – there’s a customer base being served (though possibly not very well). There’s no downtime. When the keys are turned over, the “open” sign can go on.

Perhaps most important, there are no impact fees tied to going this route. As anyone in the business knows, these fees are significant, often upward of $200,000.

Finally, building your business through acquisition eliminates all the back and forth with municipalities, in terms of permitting and the like. Speak with anyone who has experienced delays in opening a new store and there’s a better-than-average likelihood the project got sent off the rails by the permitting process. Growing through acquisition enables owners to steer around that potential pothole.

HOW TO GET STARTED

Just like the experience of buying a house, it makes sense to have a chat with your lender. Devoting time up front to identify your borrowing level and get preapproved can save substantial time later on when you are ready to buy.

This is obviously where manufacturer-based lending programs are able to be more aggressive and competitive in helping owners expand their business – similar to what they saw with their first store or two. The secured-loan structure, meaning the equipment equity, makes it much easier to expeditiously work through the approvals process. Owners we work with are continually surprised at the level of funding, in some cases up to 80% of the acquisition and retool costs can be rolled into the loan. Best of all, getting pre-approval rarely costs anything.

At any rate, it makes sense to meet with your lender to get an idea of the size store you are able to add to your portfolio.

Having been pre-approved and with an idea on financially where you stand, it’s about finding a location. Your local distributor should be an excellent resource on that front.

While you can certainly survey your area on your own, a local distributor should have a wider view of Laundromat owners who may be looking to sell their businesses. Again, this is where being pre-approved can work in your favor as a catalyst to jump-start negotiations with an owner who may be on the fence. Never underestimate the value of being able to move quickly on a purchase.

LOCATION, LOCATION

Deciding just how far away your next store will be

Matt Westphal

is mainly governed by your own business plan. Today’s laundry management systems make operating over longer distances much simpler than in years past. I’ve seen stores as near as within a half-mile, while others are 25 miles away or more.

Again, the only limiting factor is the owner’s technology infrastructure. Operating a couple stores in close proximity can be done, but as you approach three or more stores, you multiply the issues that arise and the only way to effectively scale is by leveraging technology. The more technology in place to stay in tune to revenue, equipment issues, and operations data at multiple locations, the more efficiently the business can be run from afar with minimal presence on-site.

SETTING THE PRICE

Once you have found a location and an owner who is open to selling, now the hard part begins — agreeing on a purchase price. The key word here is “verifiable.”

Verifiable income is what drives everything. You’ll want to see 12 to 24 months of profit-and-loss statements and taxes. This can often be a challenge, as exiting owners often rely on less organized financials.

Valuation will always be a multiplier of net cash flow. That multiple can range between three and five. However, all this is also dependent on lease terms of the facility. This is foundational, no matter if it’s store No. 1 or 100. You still should be shooting for 10 years with two five-year options. Bottom line, a long lease is a musthave; without it, you are basically setting up the end of your business.

RETOOL OR WAIT?

There are a couple schools of thought on whether to retool immediately or wait. Some acquisition finance programs make it attractive to roll the complete retool into the package. So there is a definite financial advantage to doing it immediately.

I would also make the case that from a marketing standpoint, retooling immediately creates a dramatic effect from the start. Retooling, adding larger capacities and cutting-edge controls are tangible representations that ownership has changed and customers will be well-served. Plus, new equipment enables you to increase vend prices as well.

The flip side is that by waiting to retool, you can listen to customers and let those conversations drive equipment capacities

and the like. Staggering the retool — a bank of washers at a time — is the middle ground, but it also puts the store in a seeming continued state of disruption.

IN SUMMARY

With the right approach and considerations, growing your laundry business through acquisition can go even smoother than building store No. 1. Plus, today’s technology has helped owners stay completely tuned in to the business from offsite, which makes running a store from a

greater distance possible.

The keys to success are a solid lease, reality-grounded financials and the all-important demographics that set the location up for long-term profitability. From there, it’s about leveraging all the tools and learnings from your previous locations. ACO

Matt Westphal is financial services manager at Alliance Laundry Systems. He has more than 10 years of laundry industry experience and can be reached at matthew. westphal@alliancels.com.

PROMOTIONS THAT BOOST THE BOTTOM LINE

Promotions can be of the long-term variety or the short-term variety. An example of a short-term promotion is a sale on a group of washers to get a quick, measurable boost in store traffic. Long-term promotions are designed to create more awareness of your Laundromat in the eyes of the general public so when someone needs to use a mat in your market, they’ll think of yours first.

That said, the best long-term promotion, the one that will indeed boost your bottom line, is simply keeping your mat is pristine condition. Let your competitors offer the public a run-down mat. Your mat should be the nicest, cleanest, best-running mat in your area.

Yes, this costs money and time, but you will be rewarded with excellent word-of-mouth advertising. No better advertising than that.

Let’s say that, for $25, you can drive a car that’s beaten up but runs. But for $35, you can drive a fire red

sports car that looks like it just left the dealer’s lot.

This is exactly the same thing when comparing a cheap, run-down “charity” mat to a beautiful, well-run mat where everything looks and operates like brandnew. You get to charge more on just about everything in your mat (unless you run a sale).

So, step back and take an honest assessment of your business from top to bottom. Your goal? To simply make it the best mat in your area.

Your water should be hot enough. Your dryers should be hot enough. Your washers should show a satisfying water level. You should have enough laundry carts, folding tables, and seating. You should have plenty of lighting and surveillance cameras to make people feel safe. The inside temperatures should never get too hot or too cold for customers.

Simply put, your mat should look and operate as close to being a brand-new mat as possible. Keep your mat looking like new and your sales will grow.

Paul Russo

(Image licensed by Ingram

HIRE GREAT EMPLOYEES AND INCENTIVIZE

Give these employees a “piece of the action.” Be creative. Maybe a small percentage of your over-the-counter sales or drop-off service. It’s up to you, but if an employee has a vested interest in your mat, your sales will grow. That’s especially true nowadays in this strong economy where it’s hard to find and retain great workers.

BOOST YOUR SLOW DAYS

What better way to increase your sales than by drawing people who can use your mat on its slowest days? The best answer to that is offering a senior citizen discount.

Retired people can come any day of the week. Working people cannot, which is why we get jammed up on weekends and holidays when working people are off.

I’ve seen supermarkets that will offer a mid-week senior citizen discount. So give them something like 10% off, or free detergent, or a “Dollar Back Deal.” Be creative. And it’s so easy to identify seniors—just ask

to see a driver’s license.

DISCOUNT A GROUP OF WASHERS

Smart store owners are already doing this. Take your slowest (least-used) group of washers and do something like a halfprice summer special, or a buck off your triple loaders.

If your slowest washer group is located near the back of your store, so much the better. People will have to pass all the other washers. People will be lured into your mat to check out the discounted machines, but some will stop to use other washers on the way, simply out of convenience.

This is a trick that department stores use. They make you pass other key, high-profit departments (think jewelry, makeup, etc.) before you get to the mattresses that they have on sale, for instance.

CONSIDER THE POWER OF ‘FREE’

It’s one of the most powerful advertising words out there. Advertising a low sale price on your slowest group of washers is good, but a “Use One Double-load Washer, Get the Second Machine Free” deal really gets their attention!

Make sure sales like these are always temporary or else you run the risk of a competitor matching your deal or, worse, lowering all their prices. If you run a sale for one or two months, your competitors will be much more likely to simply wait out your promo.

A limited-time offer also has the benefit of motivating customers to come in right away so they can take advantage of the sale before it expires.

An effective trick that I used with great results was putting a big sign in the window advertising the sale and noting when it would be ending, complete with a “daily countdown” of days left. The last sale week was a doozy when customers rushed in every day to take advantage of the deal before it ended.

Offering free dry is something that many veterans stay away from. Yes, it is one of the most powerful promos that a mat can offer, but it tends to ruin markets because competitors will be highly motivated to match it.

Free dry can be an effective tool, especially if you have a card-operated mat and you can raise your wash prices to help ▲

POINTERS FROM PAULIE B

fund the free dry. So if you decide to do this, keep in mind that you will almost surely have more than one competitor match you and maybe even outdo you with lower wash prices. It can get ugly.

GIVE BACK TO YOUR COMMUNITY

Contact the LaundryCares Foundation (https://laundrycares. org/), or a local charitable organization, to see if your mat is large enough to host a “Free Laundry Day.” If done correctly, the local media will publicize the event and your store. You may even get your local politicians to show up, especially if you are also incorporating a community reading program that is often part of these events. For example, Libraries Without Borders teams with LaundryCares to bring in trained people to help your customers’ children to read at your mat.

You get lots of publicity and response, plus you get to be the good guy by giving back and helping out your community.

RUN A SALE THAT ‘NEVER ENDS’

If you think you can do this and not trigger a response from your competitors, so much the better.

You can run a sale that “never ends” if it means it will benefit you by consistently bringing customers while leveling out the traffic spikes your mat is seeing.

Or you can run the sale for a limited time, then bring it back again right before a slow time of year.

RUN AN ‘AUTOMATIC’ SALE

Sometimes, certain events—a snowstorm, or just cold weather— will cause customers to stay away. We had a nice promotion that would kick in automatically. Our signs read, “Whenever the snow is falling, so are our prices — $1 off any double loader.”

Since we were charging $2.50 at the time, that was a healthy discount, but there’s an old saying: Half a loaf of bread is better than none. This promo brought in some customers, enough to keep a cash flow coming during bad weather. And, more importantly, those customers would not be showing up when the weather broke, so we wouldn’t get so jammed.

Another promo was, “If it’s raining outside, ask us for a free plastic bag to protect your laundry when you leave.” Since we were paying 5 cents apiece for a 33-gallon, high-density bag, this expense was peanuts, but it helped bring customers in on those bad days. Again, not a whole lot, but enough to make a difference.

The nice thing about weather promos is that they happen automatically and some customers will respond.

ADJUSTING PROMOS TO FIT YOUR NEEDS

Before we started running a 20% off sale on drop-off service every Monday through Thursday, we would get heavily jammed up with drop-offs on weekends. That’s the worst time to get inundated with tons of work, when the store is already crowded with self-serve customers, and it’s harder to get employees to work on

(Photo: © JANIFEST/Depositphotos.com)

the weekends. And don’t even get me started on the no-shows who told us they needed their clothes “back right away.”

We originally offered a 10% discount every weekday, and that shifted some customers from the weekend to mid-week … initially. Shortly after that, we started to see a strong and steady rise in people dropping off on Fridays. It became our biggest drop-off day because customers wanted to take advantage of the discount. So, we had to change the deal to 20% off Monday through Thursday.

We were still busy on weekends, and our error rate on weekend drop-offs went way down because the weekend crew was no longer overwhelmed with work. Morale went up, too!

Our weekday workload became steady and strong. If we got too busy, it was much easier to call in extra help then.

But, Paulie, weren’t you losing 20% income? Didn’t that lower your bottom line?

Yes, it did initially, but only for a short while. We had a weeklong flow of steady customers every day, and our sales went up due to the 20% off and the now-negligible error rate.

Next, we raised the prices of the drop-off service right from the beginning to help offset the initial sale expense. Six months later, we raised them again. We had to keep raising prices to limit the overall drop-off volume, because the store was reaching the point where storage was becoming a problem and we were tripping over drop-off bags.

To encourage quicker pickup to help clear out our shelves, we discounted any pre-paid drop-offs by a dollar (pre-paid drop-offs always get picked up much quicker). To make it easier for people to pre-pay, we had an ATM installed right next to the counter. Our

transaction fee was $1.50, so the $1 off deal almost covered the ATM fee, making its use more attractive to customers.

We kept having to raise drop-off prices over the next couple of years until we reached an equilibrium, a balance between volume and price. We charged practically three times what our competitors were charging, yet we were doing far more volume.

There’s more to how we built up this level, such as great packaging and, more importantly, great employees, but the 20% is the biggie because it gives people control over how they want to spend their money on drop-offs.

I was always amazed at how so many people still came to the store on the weekend, fully prepared to pay 20% more. To them, the convenience of coming on the weekend outweighed the lure of a discount.

In closing, you should know that not all mat veterans agree on offering discounts. The opponents say a discount will hurt the bottom line.

I’m not saying you should discount your entire mat, just to run specific promotions within your own healthy pricing structure.

I believe that you will get more customers, your volume will increase, and you will have the ability to raise prices on other things to more than make up for your promotions.

Paul Russo owned and operated multiple Laundromats in New York City for more than 40 years before retiring recently. He’s a regular on the Coin Laundry Association’s online forum, posting under the pseudonym “Paulie B.” He invites comments from readers at MyLaundromat@aol.com.

ACO

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large 2-inch, backlit display is easy for attendants to see, minimizing mistakes.

The UFM-B-60 comes with a builtin rechargeable battery (lasts over 100 hours) and external power adapter. An RS232 Port allows users to connect it to a computer or printer.

Features include zero tracking to ensure weighing always begins at zero, auto tare to account for weight of the laundry basket, and easy calibration to ensure accuracy. An accumulation function allows users to add consecutive weights to arrive at a total for customers with multiple bags.

RUGGED SCALE FROM SUMMIT MEASUREMENT BUILT TO WITHSTAND HARSH CONDITIONS www.summitmeasurement.net | 855-972-2537

UP!

UP!

As your appetite for knowledge to improve your business grows, give our American Coin-Op Podcast a listen. Join Editor Bruce Beggs as he engages a special guest in one-on-one conversation about the topic of the day. This free channel provides another convenient way for you to gain self-service laundry information and insight from industry peers and other experts—no muss, no fuss.

CHECK OUT WHAT YOU’VE MISSED:

Getting a Fresh Start: Out with the Old, In with the New (Year) Columnist and retired NYC Laundromat owner Paul Russo talks year-end/new-year tasks and deciding what it will take to have a successful 2019.

NEW! PRODUCT NEWS

Can’t-Miss Site Selection Strategies

Bryan Maxwell, from distributor Western State Design, surveys the landscape and talks factors to consider when choosing the ideal location for your Laundromat.

Listen in at: americancoinop.com/podcasts

Laundromat Dryer Care and Maintenance

LaundryPay is a new OEM mobile payment app developed to natively interface with Electrolux and Wascomat commercial laundry equipment in participating stores, says Laundrylux, the North American distributor for the two brands. The app is available for users to download free of charge for iOS and Android mobile devices.

“LaundryPay gives Laundromat owners the most advanced mobile payment technology available today,” says Jeffrey Hurant, director of software products at Laundrylux. “It’s easy to implement and very cost-effective. Best of all, users can continue to accept coins as well, and our software even helps them to count and track them.”

LaundryPay is an add-on module for Laundrylux’s LaundryPulse store management system and provides the ability to accept mobile payments on washers and dryers. Users simply install the app on their mobile phone, add funds to their digital wallet, and scan a unique QR Code on the machine to pay for wash and dry cycles.

The LaundryPulse suite interfaces natively with the machines’ microprocessor to harness all of its benefits, including off-peak and “happy hour” pricing. Benefits include:

• Multiple Payment Options — Customers can quickly and easily load funds to the app’s digital wallet using all major credit, debit, and EBT (where allowed) cards, eliminating the need to bring cash or coins to the Laundromat and saving time.

• Loyalty Rewards — Laundromat owners can design and manage custom loyalty programs to reward returning users. Special offers can be deployed, tracked, and measured to maximize profitability.

• Laundry Notifications — Using the app, customers can remotely check machine availability and receive notifications when their cycle is complete.

• Intuitive Interface — Large, easy-to-understand icons guide users visually through the entire process — from loading funds to checking machine availability and purchasing cycles. Multi-language capability makes it easy for everyone to use.

LaundryPay is available from the Apple App Store or Google Play store. www.laundrypayapp.com

AMERICAN CHANGER CORP. ACQUIRES ROWE

American Changer Corp. reports that it has finalized an asset purchase agreement with Rowe Bill Changers LLC, a U.S. manufacturer of self-service money changers used in several markets, including coin-operated laundry, car wash, amusement, and vending.

Terms of the acquisition from Valley-Dynamo were not revealed.

American Changer says the deal “unites two reputable brands” and further enhances its mission “to remain at the forefront of ingenuity.”

Products and parts for Rowe changers will continue to be sold under the Rowe trade name and trademark, a name that American Changer says has been associated with quality and dependability for over 50 years.

Products and services will be provided from American Changer’s manufacturing and corporate center based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

“We are extremely pleased to welcome customers familiar with Rowe Bill Changers, parts and services in the American Changer family,” the new owner says in a prepared statement. “Rowe’s proud heritage and sector expertise positions American Changer for sustained growth, particularly as we leverage the best of all technologies and our superb team, while continually expanding our product offering. We aim to provide superior customer service, creating and maintaining satisfied customers around the globe.”

American Changer says its team works closely with distributors, operators and OEMs worldwide in a variety of venues, endeavoring to provide secure, automated, and practical moneyhandling solutions with an emphasis on lowering installation and operating costs, maximizing machine uptime, enhancing revenues, reducing pilferage and improving profits.

ELECTROLUX SPINNING OFF LAUNDRY BIZ AS PUBLIC COMPANY

Electrolux Professional, the professional laundry and professional kitchen equipment division of Electrolux, reports it has begun the process to become a stand-alone public company in 2020.

The Electrolux Board of Directors has initiated work intending to propose that a shareholders meeting decides to split the AB Electrolux group into two listed companies: “Electrolux” for household appliances and “Electrolux Professional” for professional appliances, and to distribute Electrolux Professional to AB Electrolux shareholders in 2020.

The Board believes such a split has the potential “to create substantial shareholder value over time, given that the two businesses have different end markets, customers and success drivers.”

Electrolux Professional provides food service, beverage and laundry solutions to a wide range of customers, from restaurants and hotels to healthcare and other service facilities.

“Electrolux Professional is the only supplier in the professional

appliances space with a full and integrated offer of solutions under one brand,” says Staffan Bohman, board chairman of AB Electrolux. “As such, it has significant potential for long-term value creation as an agile stand-alone company, which can pursue growth through market consolidation and innovation.”

New York-based Laundrylux is the sole distributor of Electrolux Professional laundry products in North America.

“Consistent with our announced strategy to catalyze consolidation of the professional laundry industry in North America and worldwide, Electrolux Professional as a public company will have a traded stock to fund acquisitions,” says Neal Milch, executive chairman of Laundrylux. “The public listing of Professional in 2020 is consistent with Laundrylux’s liquidity pathway and our strategic cooperation.”

“Electrolux Professional is a world leader in two distinct platforms, commercial laundry and kitchen equipment, with worldclass manufacturing, R&D, distribution, and brands,” adds Laundrylux CEO John Sabino. “Combined with Laundrylux’s North American market strength, Laundrylux Financial Services, and our own R&D capabilities, the stage is set for accelerating global growth.”

SPEED QUEEN EXPANDS DISTRIBUTOR’S COVERAGE IN

SOUTHEAST

Speed Queen recently expanded the territory of distributor Statewide Laundry Equipment, based in Miami. The company will now cover parts of Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina for the Alliance Laundry Systems brand.

“Statewide has represented the Speed Queen brand with distinction for decades,” says Steve Bowie, Speed Queen Commercial North American sales manager. “We are excited to provide our valued customers with an enhanced distributor experience, one that offers a full line of Speed Queen products and services to meet their needs.”

Statewide has offices in Miami, Orlando, Tampa and Jacksonville, Florida, and in Marietta, Georgia. Through a knowledgeable staff, the company has been a go-to resource in Florida for investors seeking to enter the vended laundry business, Speed Queen says. Additionally, Statewide also serves multihousing properties as well as on-premises laundries at healthcare facilities, hotels, fire departments, spas, and other industries.

Customers in the expanded Statewide territories can expect the “highest level of professionalism, as well as unparalleled service and support before, during and after the sale,” Speed Queen adds.

IMONEX CELEBRATES 40 YEARS IN BUSINESS

In 2019, Imonex has reached the milestone of 40 years serving self-service industries. Known as “the legend in coin flow,” the Sealy, Texas, manufacturer says its coin and token acceptance products are employed to transact payment in laundries, car washes, amusement venues and vending machines.

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“Store owners and their customers rely on the simplicity of coin and token drops to pay for wash and dry,” says Imonex President Butch Bruner. “We pride ourselves in providing affordable solutions delivering consistent, high performance in laundry and other demanding environments.”

Four decades ago, Bruner built an injection mold to develop a vending machine component while operating Apollo Vending, a Houston-area route operation founded by his father, George, whose own ties to coin-operated devices date back to 1950.

The product launch propelled Bruner and his wife, Janet, to establish Imonex and bring an array of patented payment devices to market, including a no-moving-parts roll down acceptor designed to virtually eliminate coin jams.

Originally fashioned from a garage workspace, Imonex’s acceptors — including dual-value coin and token models for washers and dryers — are precision-crafted in the company’s 37,000-square-foot facility and put to work at self-service machines worldwide.

TIDE INTRODUCES FULL-SERVICE, ON-DEMAND LAUNDRY SOLUTION

Residents of hundreds of cities around the country will soon see the launch of Tide Cleaners, an on-demand laundry and drycleaning service aimed at “giving people the option to spend more time on life and less time doing laundry.”

Time is becoming an increasingly valuable commodity for consumers everywhere, Tide says, and the demand for services meant to make everyday life more efficient continues to rise.

“Many people believe that in order to get laundry done right, they have to do it themselves,” says Sundar Raman, vice president of P&G’s North American Fabric Care business. “Tide is taking this challenge head-on and aiming to give people clean, cared-for clothes and some time back.”

The new service will complement Tide’s existing business. The company is committed to doubling the size of its current out-ofhome laundry footprint by the end of 2020, making Tide Cleaners services available in more than 2,000 locations nationwide.

At launch, the Tide Cleaners business model provides a wide range of solutions for city-dwellers, suburban families and students alike, including drop boxes in urban locations, 24-hour stores, on-campus van delivery, and drop boxes in existing retailers.

Nearly a decade ago, Tide built upon its existing laundry business by entering into dry cleaning and has since made several acquisitions in wash and fold services to meet the needs of the 26 million American households currently using shared facilities or outsourcing laundry.

“For many people, the closest laundry room is 20 floors down or 10 blocks down the street,” says Raman. “Whether you’re one of the millions of people living in a high-rise apartment building or you’re juggling college classes, we know taking care of

your clothes may not always be convenient. Our goal with Tide Cleaners is to help people’s increasingly busy lives revolve more around what matters, and less around their laundry.”

Tide Cleaners brings Tide’s 75-year history of superior cleaning to the out-of-home laundry market through exclusive formulas and services only available through Tide Cleaners, including color restoration for faded garments and unique formula designs meant to help keep clothes looking newer, longer.

“Our focus has been and will always be to help our consumers get the confidence that comes from clean clothes,” says Raman. “We’re committed to providing people everywhere with a Tide clean, and the personalized care they get from doing their own laundry, whether they want to get that clean at home, or with the new convenience that Tide Cleaners will provide.”

Consumers, building managers, interested franchisees and retailers can request that Tide Cleaners consider opening a location in their city, building, or on their campus by going to www. tidecleaners.com/start

STATEWIDE LAUNDRY EQUIPMENT TO OPEN SMYRNA, GEORGIA, OFFICE

Statewide Laundry Equipment (SLE) will soon open a new facility in Smyrna, Georgia, boasting a full sales team, parts counter, showroom, service team, and a warehouse with equipment, the company reports.

SLE plans to host a May open house that will offer coin laundry customers, store owners and potential investors an intimate preview of the new location. Guests can participate in special pricing packages and financing opportunities, meet factory reps, and win prizes.

“We are thrilled to be the Speed Queen distributor in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina,” says Dave Chadsey, vice president of Statewide Laundry Equipment. “Speed Queen has been the industry leader in product innovation for 100 years, and they have not slowed down.”

The new technology and payment system available from the manufacturer “provides what store owners want and need in a management package, plus a state-of-the-art optional payment system,” Chadsey adds.

SLE has been serving its clients for over 40 years and offers a robust array of parts/repair services for laundry operations in client industries, including vended, multi-housing, commercial, hotels, hospitals, schools, spas, fire departments and more. It has had a longstanding presence in the Southeast, with offices in Miami, Orlando, Tampa, Jacksonville, and now Smyrna.

The Smyrna SLE office will be located at 2744 S. Cobb Industrial Blvd. and can be contacted by calling 1-800-749WASH. ACO

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