by Leon Mengri
April 16, 2018
Many laundries and drycleaners that focus on servicing households are increasingly attempting to provide convenient pick-up and drop-off options, as well as other amenities, to attract and retain consumers in the face of structural changes that disfavor drycleaning use. New entrants also focus on convenience.
Over the 2007-2017 historical period, drycleaning businesses suffered from structural changes such as the popularity of easy-care clothing that does not generally require drycleaning services, the movement away from formal dress in business and other settings toward more casual attire, and the launch of at-home dry cleaning products.
Drycleaners that also offer to wash, dry, and fold customer’s regular laundry may also offer to pick-up and drop-off laundry items on behalf of the customer within a certain service area. However, some businesses offer additional conveniences that address consumer’s time constrains. For example, Laundry Locker, located in San Francisco, allows customers to drop off laundry in lockers located in various residential and office buildings as well as other locations such as kiosks. The company picks up and does the laundry (wash and fold or drycleaning) and returns it back to the locker; home pickups and delivery are also available. In addition, Agile Pursuits Franchising (Procter & Gamble) began opening Tide Dry Cleaners stores in 2008, started franchising in 2010, and has 50 stores as of January 2018. Conveniences include 24-hour drop boxes, 24-hour lockers for pickup, drive-thru and curbside valet, home and business delivery, and same day service.
For more insights into the US laundry and linen services market, see Laundry & Linen Services: United States, a report published by the Freedonia Focus Reports division of The Freedonia Group. This report forecasts to 2022 US laundry and linen service revenues in nominal US dollars. Total revenues are segmented by establishment type in terms of:
Segments are also grouped in terms of business-to-business market segments (i.e., uniform and linen launders) and consumer market segments (i.e., drycleaners and laundries, and coin-operated laundries).
To illustrate historical trends, total revenues and the various segments are provided in annual series from 2007 to 2017. In addition, the number of employer firms, employer establishments, nonemployer establishments, and employment by establishment type are provided in annual series from 2007 to 2015.
Related Focus Reports include:
Leon Mengri is a Senior Market Research Analyst with Freedonia Focus Reports. He conducts research and writes a variety of Focus Reports, which offer concise overviews of market size, product segmentation, business trends, and more.
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