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May 17, 2012
The Sun’ll Come Out…

LOS ANGELES — Many beginning to see businesses return to better times

LOS ANGELES — Every four years around this time, the same question comes up: are you better off today than you were four years ago?

Well, let me be frank. The last four years have been difficult. I was 51, now I’m 55. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like 51 better. Then, I had black hair; now, I’m losing the black and losing the hair.

And it was exactly four years ago this month that I decided to leave my lucrative career as a personal manager for actors, writers, comedians and directors to join my wife in manufacturing and distributing reusable drycleaning garment bags.

Things went pretty much haywire right from the start: we made our first sale about the exact same time as the banking, housing and financial bubbles burst. The loans we were counting on to grow our business were now unattainable: banks simply stopped lending.

May 16, 2012
The Numbers: Unemployment Rate Falls; Consumer Confidence Increases Slightly

CHICAGO — While the unemployment rate went down slightly, job growth slowed noticeably

WHILE JOB GROWTH SLOWED for the month of March, with the market adding only 121,000 private-sector jobs, the unemployment rate fell to 8.2%, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

“We’ve added nearly half a million manufacturing jobs since February 2010,” says Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. “We cannot rest on our laurels and expect to coast our way back to prosperity.”

The figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show little change from January to February, with 3.6 million job openings, a hires rate of 3.3% and a separations rate of 3.1%. Compared with the 4.3 million job openings when the recession began in December 2007, the current rate has increased 46% since the end of the recession in June 2009.

May 10, 2012
Survey: Multi-Faceted Marketing Plan is Popular Choice for Cleaners

CHICAGO — Most marketing efforts about reaching multiple goals

CHICAGO — Dry cleaners employ a broad range of marketing initiatives to promote their business and services, and three-quarters believe their efforts pay off by generating real dollars, according to the results of this month’s AmericanDrycleaner.com Wiresurvey.

Maintaining a company website is the most common marketing initiative, used by 71.4% of respondents. A close second, at 66.7%, is community outreach.

Other popular efforts include print advertising (57.1%), direct-mail marketing (52.4%), e-mail marketing (42.9%), and social media (33.3%). A smaller percentage (14.3%) uses other outlets, including radio, for marketing.

What is the main goal of your company’s marketing initiatives? If you’re trying to accomplish a multitude of things simultaneously, then you’re not alone.

Roughly 57% of respondents say their main goal is multi-faceted: to encourage customer loyalty, increase brand awareness, build the customer case, and increase short-term sales.

May 3, 2012
Advertising in the Yellow Pages

PEMBROKE, Mass. — Tips to create attention-grabbing line and box ads

PEMBROKE, Mass. — The Yellow Pages are dying, but they aren’t dead yet.  Many consumers over 40 still use them as their first shopping resort. Every household still has them.

Most dry cleaners put line ads in several area books, and one or two competitors have standard bullet box ads that aren’t terribly effective. What that means for you is that you can more easily stand out and that you can bargain for a better price.

New residents use this resource to find whom to go to for dry cleaning. Transients use Yellow Pages to bring a load of clothing. Others use the book to find a special service, such as drapery cleaning. Angry patrons might use Yellow Pages to discover another source.

If your market is stable, without many comings and goings, you probably only need a line ad. But if you have a mobile market, with quite a bit of movement, then you might at least try a box ad.

April 24, 2012
Texcare International Preview: Buzzword is Sustainability

FRANKFURT AM MAIN, Germany — Around 250 exhibitors and 15,000 trade visitors expected

FRANKFURT AM MAIN, Germany — Sustainability will be the dominant theme of Texcare International — World Market for Modern Textile Care when it returns here in two weeks.

Show organizer Messe Frankfurt says all international market leaders—including the Alliance International brands, Barbanti, Beirholms Vaeverier, Ecolab, Girbau, Heprotex, Jensen, Kannegiesser, Kreussler, LG Electronics, Lavatec Laundry Technology, Macpi, Miele, Multimatic, Pellerin Milnor, Renzacci and Veit—have registered to exhibit during the May 5-9 show.

Altogether, Messe Frankfurt expects to welcome around 250 exhibitors and 15,000 trade visitors. As in previous shows (the event is staged every four years), the proportion of manufacturers from outside Germany will exceed 60%; the most important exhibitor nations besides Germany are Italy and the United States, Messe Frankfurt says.

April 19, 2012
Second Amendment and the Workplace

DOLTON, Ill. — Workplace violence policy can protect employees and employer

DOLTON, Ill. — Property rights and gun rights are in an intensifying conflict over whether employers can prohibit employees from having guns on company property, according to a recent National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) magazine article. The conundrum is what business owners should do, regardless of which side of the fence they sit upon concerning firearms.

Having a workplace violence policy can protect employers against legal action. You and your business must have written proof that you’ve taken steps to keep employees safe. I’m not a legal expert but I do watch out for firearms legislation that may affect me now or in the future; I do not want my firearms banned or confiscated because of some technical infraction.

April 12, 2012
The Numbers: Stock Market Strong While Unemployment Holds Steady

CHICAGO — Mid-March found the stock market posting its best day of the year

CHICAGO — MID-MARCH FOUND THE STOCK MARKET posting its best day of the year, with the Dow Jones closing at its highest level since 2007 and the Nasdaq composite closing above 3,000 for the first time since December 2000.

While the unemployment rate held steady at 8.3%—a three-year low—the number of private-sector jobs continued to increase. With a jump of 233,000 jobs in February, more than 3.9 million jobs have been added to the U.S. workforce.

“We’ve had 24 straight months of private-sector job growth,” says Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis. “U.S. job growth over the last six months has been the strongest since before the recession began in 2006.” Experts say, however, that it will take another five years to gain pre-recession employment figures.

MORTGAGE APPLICATIONS WERE DOWN for the week ending March 2, decreasing 1.2% from the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Along with that news, RealtyTrac showed new foreclosures were up 2.89% from December 2011 to January 2012.

April 4, 2012
Thum Elected President of Southwest Drycleaners Association

SAN ANTONIO — Richard Thum, co-founder and president of Five Star Cleaners, was recently elected president of The Southwest Drycleaners Association (SDA)

SAN ANTONIO — Richard Thum, co-founder and president of Five Star Cleaners, was recently elected president of The Southwest Drycleaners Association (SDA) at its annual convention.

The regional trade association, with more than 300 members, is an affiliate of the Drycleaning & Laundry Institute (DLI). The 96-year-old association serves the professional dry cleaners of Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.

Thum served as first vice president of the organization last year, and has served on the SDA board in various capacities for 28 years.

He launched Comet Cleaners in San Antonio in 1981 along with his wife, Sharlene, and the name was changed to Five Star Cleaners in 2004. The Thums own 11 locations across San Antonio.

Thum holds a bachelor of science degree in real estate finance from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, and has a real estate broker’s license in Texas.

March 27, 2012
Energy Efficiency Good for Planet, Profit

SAN FRANCISCO — About 2% separates our industry’s average utility cost and the benchmark, which equates to another $20,000 of profit per $1 million of sales

SAN FRANCISCO — Small businesses are generally not very resource-efficient. This is certainly true of drycleaning and laundry plants. The differential between our industry’s average utility cost and the benchmark utility cost as a percentage of sales is approximately 2%, which equates to an additional $20,000 of profit per $1 million of sales. That is a savings worth pursuing.

The easiest way to reduce this expense is to have professionals conduct an energy audit. Often, your utility provider offers this service free. If that is not the case in your area, there are professional energy consultants who perform the same service and get paid a percentage of your resulting cost savings.

EFFICIENCY CHECKLIST

A myriad of resources exist on the subject, some of which are referenced later in this article. You are probably familiar with the basics of energy and resource efficiency, but the following “Efficiency Checklist” may be helpful as a refresher.

General:

• Track your resource usage

• Compare your usage to industry benchmarks

March 26, 2012
Pennsylvania Cleaners Receive Environmental Protection Grants

HARRISBURG, Pa. — The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection awards grants for energy-efficiency or pollution-prevention projects

HARRISBURG, Pa. — The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has awarded more than $62,000 in grants to help 31 small businesses across the state, including some dry cleaners and laundries, invest in energy-efficiency or pollution-prevention projects.

“This program empowers small-business owners to invest in important upgrades that make the most sense for their business,” DEP Secretary Mike Krancer says. “It gives them the opportunity to lower the costs of production, which makes them better environmental stewards and more competitive.”

Receiving grants were:

March 21, 2012
Clean Show Selects GES as Official Contractor

ATLANTA — Show committee picks Las Vegas-based company from

ATLANTA — The Clean Executive Committee has selected Global Experience Specialists (GES) to serve as the official services contractor for the 2013 Clean Show in New Orleans.

Three companies submitted proposals for the June 2013 show. “GES did our show in New Orleans in 2009 and did a great job,” says John Riddle, president of Riddle & Associates, the Clean Show’s management company. “We look forward to working with them again in 2013.”

Chicago hosted the first Clean Show in 1977. United Exposition Service Co. was the official services contractor for that event and subsequent shows. GES purchased United in 1993, and the Las Vegas-based company has continued its partnership with the Clean Show for many shows since.

GES produces 3,000 exhibitions and events annually.

The Clean Show—officially titled the World Educational Congress for Laundering and Drycleaning—attracts people across all segments of the textile care industry, from single-owner, coin-operated laundry and drycleaning establishments to giant industrial and institutional laundries and textile rental companies.

March 19, 2012
Panda Dry Cleaners LLC Opens Its First Two Tide Franchise Stores

PHOENIX — This year, P&G franchisee plans to build

PHOENIX — Panda Dry Cleaners LLC, in collaboration with Procter & Gamble (P&G), recently opened its first Tide Dry Cleaners stores in Henderson, a suburb of Las Vegas, and has now opened a second, this one in the Phoenix suburb of Ahwatukee.

The franchise locations are the first of five that Panda Dry Cleaners LLC plans to build this year. Chief executives of Panda Express fast-food restaurants established the company.

“We are very excited to have the opportunity to partner with Panda Dry Cleaners LLC to help us expand and further grow the Tide Dry Cleaners business,” says Jeff Wampler, CEO of Agile Pursuits Franchising, a wholly owned subsidiary of P&G. “Their expertise in real estate and development, coupled with our experience in consumer branding and understanding, will create a win-win opportunity for customers within the drycleaning industry.”

March 8, 2012
The Numbers: Positive Outlook for Unemployment, Consumer Spending, GDP

CHICAGO — January ’s unemployment rate dropped to 8.3%

CHICAGO — JANUARY’S UNEMPLOYMENT RATE dropped to 8.3%, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, the lowest since February 2009.

“The economy added 257,000 private-sector jobs last month, exceeding expectations,” says Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. “These numbers show that the labor market continues on a positive trajectory.

In response to the positive numbers, the Dow Jones jumped the day after the announcement while the Nasdaq index reached a level that hasn’t been seen since December 2000.

THE FEDERAL RESERVE DISTRICTS reported modest growth for December, indicating ongoing improvement in the country’s economy. Consumer spending increased in most of the 12 districts, showing strong holiday sales compared to that of 2010, and activity expanded in the travel and tourist sector as well.

March 6, 2012
Brokerage Services Brush-Up

CHICAGO — It’s important to know the difference between full-service and discount brokers

CHICAGO — If you’re one of the millions of Americans who own stocks and bonds, it’s a good bet that you maintain those investments in a brokerage account. Keeping physical possession of stock or bond certificates in this digital age makes about as much sense as stuffing cash under the mattress.

But opening a brokerage account was only your first decision. These days, you must also decide whether to go with a so-called full-service broker or a discount broker, and it’s important to understand the difference.

Discount brokers such as TD Ameritrade, E*TRADE, Charles Schwab and others typically charge between $2 and $20 for individual online trades; full-service brokers such as Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and others charge as much as 10 to 15 times that much. While competition has caused many full-service brokers to reduce commissions lately, on average, you'll still pay $100-$150 for an average trade done through the typical full-service (translation: full-price) broker. And it doesn’t stop there.

March 6, 2012
GreenEarth Cleaning Signs Wotek Corp. as Licensee in India, Middle East

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The unique fabricare advantages of GreenEarth’s environmentally safe

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — GreenEarth Cleaning has signed Wotek Corp., Piscataway, N.J., as master licensor of its dry cleaning process for India and the Middle East, GreenEarth reports.

A U.S. engineering company known for exporting and servicing well-known dry cleaning and laundry brands, Wotek will license GreenEarth’s patented process to hotels and progressive drycleaning operators.

The unique fabricare advantages of GreenEarth’s environmentally safe, liquid silicone-based process were a key reason why Wotek sought to partner with GreenEarth.

With the Wotek agreement, GreenEarth is now licensed in 33 countries. It has more than 1,600 affiliate licenses worldwide, approximately half of which are in the United States.

“The level of interest in GreenEarth, both internationally and here in the U.S., continues to grow,” says Tim Maxwell, president of GreenEarth Cleaning. “Our focus remains on quality over quantity; we are very selective about who we partner with to license our patented process and trademarks.”

March 1, 2012
Eliminate Aggravating Traits in a Dry Cleaner Clerk

PEMBROKE, Mass. — A customer walks into your store and says a few words to the counter person. Your employee enacts some business: looks up an order, takes in money, pulls the order off the rack and hands it to the customer, or checks the status of an item. Then the customer leaves.

This exchange is typically brief—three to five minutes at most—but it is the most important few minutes for you and your customer.

This time of customer/employee interaction is an opportunity for your business to shine or to disappoint. It is how the customer forms his/her opinion of his/her dry cleaner. The customer walks out with answers to these questions:

February 28, 2012
Adding Alternative Profit Centers to Your Dry Cleaning Business

SAN FRANCISCO — The lifestyle changes of consumers (most notably more casual attire), their extremely hectic lifestyles that limit time and/or desire to run errands, and the downward economic pressure in general have all been factors in the search for alternative profit centers to maintain the economic health of the fabricare industry.

I’m going to address some of the alternatives that are contributing to the sales and profit of cleaners. It is important to remember that any and all of them take careful planning and execution to be successful.

DISASTER RESTORATION

Disaster restoration divisions, with their large orders on the positive side, and the uncertainty of demand on the negative side, have been a common and welcome addition to many companies.

Anyone considering entering this business for the first time is advised to thoroughly research the required initial investment, potential challenges of collection, and the extremely aggressive competition in the sales process. If these factors are manageable, a professional team is required to make this business a success.

February 23, 2012
Fabritec Mourns Deaths of Veteran Contributors

COLD SPRING, Ky. — Two valued Fabritec International employees and veteran contributors to the dry cleaning industry have died in recent months, the company reports.

Retired Vice President Bob Knippling died Jan. 12 at age 85. Knippling, a U.S. Army veteran who served during World War II, graduated from college with degrees in chemistry and biology. He joined then-Emery Industries in 1951 as a chemist.

While with Fabritec, he was in charge of the Stamford distribution and Emerbrite divisions, and he worked closely with Fabritec’s salesmen. Knippling made major research contributions during his 50 years in the industry. He served as Fabritec vice president for 20 years before retiring in 2001.

Retired Sales Support Manager John Geer died Oct. 22 at age 78. After receiving a physics degree, Geer began his dry cleaning career with his family’s business in Marion, Ohio. In 1976, he joined Fabritec (Emery Industries at the time), where he became director of technical services.

February 22, 2012
Puerto Rican Brainstorming Conference Builds Camaraderie

PUERTO RICO — The Five-Star Brainstorming conference, co-sponsored by the Drycleaning & Laundry Institute and the National Cleaners Association, was pronounced a success by organizers and attendees.

About 50 dry cleaning professionals gathered at a Puerto Rican resort in mid-January to discuss customer trends and produce ideas to improve their businesses. The unique gathering, the first time the two groups have co-hosted a conference, featured a number of speakers, including Brian Carter, co-author of Facebook Marketing.

“He showed attendees that you really can make money with Facebook,” says Brian Johnson, DLI director of education and analysis.

Identifying different levels of familiarity with online marketing among audience members, Carter tailored his talk to involve all attendees. He provided basic steps that everyone, even those with only 15 minutes per month to spend on the project, could take, including creating a Facebook page and running a simple Facebook ad to promote their business in their area.

February 16, 2012
Loyal Team May Be Best Profit Center

LOS ANGELES — During that first hard year of building my personal management company, I had lunch with Michael Levine, a celebrity publicist who seems to show up on TV every time a star overdoses, heads to rehab or goes to jail.

“Rick,” he said, “what you need is revenue. Doesn’t matter if you believe in the clients or not, it only matters if they help pay your rent.”

Several years later, with my company now mature and well established, he called me to remind me that it was his advice that led to my subsequent success.

“I do have to thank you,” I told him. “Every time I thought about taking on a client I wasn’t passionate about but was making money, I thought of your advice and chose not to take on the client.”

My business success was predicated on casting directors and producers believing in my sense of taste. How could I have asked the buying community to trust my belief in my clients if I didn’t believe in them?

February 15, 2012
TCATA Finalizes Agenda for Annual Educational Conference in Va.

FAIRFIELD, N.J. — The Textile Care Allied Trades Association’s Annual Management and Educational Conference will feature three speakers covering a wide array of topics to help members with their businesses.

Scheduled to appear during the April 18-21 event at the Williamsburg Lodge in Williamsburg, Va., are:

February 2, 2012
Pennsylvania Cleaners Among Environmental Protection Grant Recipients

HARRISBURG, Pa. — The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) recently awarded 46 small businesses $293,889 in grants to help them invest in energy-efficiency or pollution-prevention projects, and three dry cleaners—Quality Cleaners in Lemoyne, Steininger’s Laundry & Dry Cleaning in Selinsgrove, and Murrysville Cleaners in Murrysville—were among the recipients.

Quality Cleaners received a $7,500 grant to aid in the purchase and installation of a K4 hydrocarbon system to replace a perchloroethylene system (total project cost is $87,635). The business is owned by Barry Gordon.

Steininger’s Laundry and Dry Cleaning received a $7,500 grant to aid in upgrading to a Union drycleaning machine for greater solvent mileage and waste reduction (total project cost is $67,385). Owner of the company is Charles Steininger.

Murrysville Cleaners received a $7,500 grant to install a high-efficiency boiler, with a goal of reducing emissions (total project cost is $31,000). David Beatty is the owner.

January 30, 2012
Make Your Existing Plant New Again

SAN FRANCISCO — You may be experiencing pangs of envy as you congratulate this year's Plant Design Awards winners. A new plant can be a tremendous asset, but an existing plant can feel new again with some focused effort. Relatively minor revisions can improve productivity, boost morale, increase throughput and enhance profit.

Here are 10 ways to renew your existing plant:

10. REMOVE THE CLUTTER

Overcome the “pack rat” tendency to hold on to everything. This is a huge challenge for frugal owners, but clearly most excess/old equipment will never be re-activated. Even if you operate duplicate equipment and keep the defunct piece for parts, can the usable parts be more orderly?

How often have the boxes stored in the out-of-the-way places been opened? Do you know what they contain? Why are the contents being saved? Do they have any value that can be captured by use or sale?

Removing excess unused items of all kinds provides light, air and floor space for productive use and shows an organized approach to operating your business.

January 23, 2012
CRDN Names Murray National Sales and Operations Manager

BERKLEY, Mich. — The Certified Restoration Drycleaning Network (CRDN), an international organization of textile restoration specialists serving the insurance industry, has named Robert Murray its national sales and operations manager.

Murray spent four years as select customer sales executive with The Hartford. His background includes advanced marketing and business development skills, as well as operational expertise.

“To this position, Rob brings diverse experience with finance and environmental services in addition to his strategically important insurance expertise,” says CRDN CEO Wayne Wudyka. “He also provides hands-on knowledge of franchise ownership and multi-location business management, which will be particularly relevant for the CRDN operations he will guide and direct.”

January 19, 2012
Right to Represent

LOS ANGELES — Those who know I spent 25 years in show business often ask why I’d ever leave show business for dry cleaning. And they get one of three answers.

Some I tell that I’ve been to the Cannes Film Festival, to Sundance, to the Toronto, London and Telluride Film Festivals, and the nicest people I’ve met were at the Long Beach dry cleaners convention.

And that’s true: in Sundance, everyone looks both ways before saying hello; they don’t want to engage you and miss Harvey Weinstein or George Clooney coming their way. But dry cleaners have spent 12 hours a day for years being nice to the customers who walk in their stores and, as a result, they’ve just become nicer.

Others I tell that I wanted to represent a product instead of a person, especially after having clients who wanted me to complain to the studio and network of the series they were starring in that they wanted DirecTV, not Dish TV, wired into their dressing room. No matter how successful our business gets, I doubt one will ever demand premium cable channels.