Content about Wire Survey

CHICAGO — Most dry cleaners rue the trend that has seen many dress codes shift to business casual, and more than three-quarters of respondents (76.1%) to this month’s AmericanDrycleaner.com Wire survey say the ongoing movement toward casual clothing in the workplace has had a major impact on the industry.

Approximately 22% say the business casual dress code has had a “minor impact,” and 2.2% say it has had no impact.

What impact has casual clothing had on overall drycleaning sales volume in the last few years? Roughly 43% say their sales have decreased substantially (more than 5%) each year, and 31.8% say theirs has decreased slowly (0-5%).

Nearly 14% say their sales have been flat. Sales have increased slowly (0-5%) each year for 6.8% of respondents, and 4.5% say their sales have increased substantially (more than 5%).

So, what if anything, has your plant done to respond to this trend? Among Wire survey respondents, 53.3% have explored new sidelines to fill excess plant capacity and 46.7% have targeted casual clothing as a source of business.

CHICAGO — It’s not unusual for a retail dry cleaner to also offer a commercial service, and hotel/motel guest dry cleaning is the most common one offered among the operators polled in this month’s AmericanDrycleaner.com Wire survey.

Sixty percent of operators that responded to the anonymous survey provide dry cleaning for hotel/motel guests. Next most popular is uniform/workwear services at 40%, followed closely by “other” at 33.3%. Services listed as “other” included police uniforms, table linen and chef jackets for catering companies, and spa linens.

Roughly 27% of respondents process healthcare linens, 20% clean restaurant/food service linens, and 13.3% process hotel/motel linens and napery.

Forty percent of respondents say they plan to add a commercial service or expand their existing commercial capacity in the next 12 months. The remainder is not planning additions or expansion.

Respondents that offer commercial services say this work accounts for, on average, 4.9% of their gross sales and 4.4% of their profits.

CHICAGO — More than half of dry cleaners asked to offer their rough forecasts for sales in 2012 believe that volume will improve in their area next year, according to the results of American Drycleaner’s final Wire survey for 2011.

Sales volume will either “improve substantially, with at least a 5% year-to-year gain” (20%) or “bounce back a little, with a gain of 0% to 5%” (32%), these respondents predict.

Often, an increase in business for one cleaner means that other cleaners may be suffering or have even closed. “Several good-quality establishments sold and it’s getting harder to find a very good dry cleaner, which is good for me,” says one of the fortunate.

“We’re getting referrals every day,” beams another. “We’ve acquired two competitor routes. We’re looking to a third acquisition.”

CHICAGO — In the spirit of Halloween, American Drycleaner asked members of the trade audience to answer which spooky scenario frightens them the most. And while there was a clear-cut No. 1 choice, every potential situation presented in the Wire survey received votes.

Top of the list—at 26.3%—was receiving a call from the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) after it had received an anonymous complaint. Running a close second at 23.7% was a lengthy power outage. Third (15.8%) was “other,” including fears of going out of business and being investigated by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Other scenarios were a key piece of equipment is out of commission (13.2%), a big customer stops using your service (10.5%), a staff member injured on the job threatens to sue (5.3%), circumstances force a 10% cut in next year’s budget (2.6%), and an audit reveals that funds are missing (2.6%).

Operators were asked about the most frightening thing to have affected their store or plant. Some of the responses were:

CHICAGO — There are plenty of things that cause a drycleaner’s blood pressure to rise, and many of them—based on the results of July’s unscientific Wire survey—have to do with employees.

Of the specific stress inducers we asked about, respondents find the failure of a drycleaning machine during a busy time most stressful. More than 76% said such an event causes their blood pressure to “soar” (27.5%) or “rise a bit” (48.8%).

Fifty percent become stressed when a new drycleaner opens nearby, and 41.3% feel the pressure when they have to negotiate with their landlord.

Least stressful among the scenarios we presented is the front-counter attendant who starts showing up late or missing shifts. More than 50% said this is rarely or never a concern.

But when drycleaners were asked to name the single drycleaning-management issue that causes them the most stress, nearly half of their wide-ranging responses were related to their employees.

CHICAGO — Most drycleaners (84.0%) issue coupons as part of their marketing strategy, according to this month’s Wire survey, and use a variety of media to get them out there. But they differ on how effective those coupons are in getting business and realizing profits.

CHICAGO — More than half (53.6%) of the operators surveyed in this month’s Wire say they plan to attend this year’s Clean Show, set for June 6-9, 2011 in Las Vegas.

Many are looking forward to the industry’s biggest convention and exhibition. “I always come back from a show with new ideas and a renewed zest for the business,” says one operator.

CHICAGO — Asked about their goals for the New Year, more than one-third (38.1%) of drycleaners responding to this month’s Wire survey say they’ve made resolutions affecting their business and personal lives. The equivalent number (38.1%) hadn’t made any New Year’s resolutions, and almost one-quarter (23.8%) answered “Not yet.”

CHICAGO — Ongoing softness in the commercial real-estate market is making it a great time to sign or renegotiate a lease, say almost half (46.4%) of drycleaners responding to the most recent Wire survey. And more than a quarter (27.6%) of respondents say they’re looking to do just that.

CHICAGO — Nearly four out of five drycleaners (79.4%) say that they are satisfied with their distributors, according to the most recent Wire survey, marking a big improvement in customer satisfaction since American Drycleaner conducted a similar survey in 2008.

CHICAGO — Almost two-thirds (64.3%) of operators are making summer travel plans comparable to last year’s, according to the most recent Wire survey. One in five (21.4%) say they will take more leisure time than they did last year, and just 14.3% say they will scale back their vacation plans this year.

CHICAGO — Drycleaners favor some major features of the landmark healthcare reform legislation passed last month by Congress, according to this month's Wire survey, but almost three-quarters (73.4%) say they oppose the overall package, or Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act.