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Content about Midwest

March 28, 2012

StatShot: Sales Up Nationwide for Second Straight Month

CHICAGO — Drop-off service sales also rise in year-to-year comparison

CHICAGO — Self-service laundry sales were up in all four regions for a second straight month in February, according to the most recent AmericanCoinOp.com StatShot unscientific survey.

February sales in the South were up 6.8% (compared to February 2011 sales). Sixty percent of the respondents reported an increase in sales, while 20% reported a decrease. Sales were unchanged for 20% of respondents.

Sales in the Midwest rose 5.6% compared to February 2011 sales. Roughly 64% reported year-to-year sales increases, while 14.3% reported decreases. Sales were unchanged for 21.4% of respondents.

“My customer count is up 15% over last February,” a Midwest operator reported.

In the West, February sales were up 3.6%. Fifty-five percent of respondents reported a bump. “Coin sales very spotty,” reports an operator there. “Have added credit card readers to one-third of the Laundromat, which resulted in better results.”

February sales were up 2.4% in the Northeast, where 57% of respondents reported increases.

Despite the rise in sales overall, many operators offered gloomy comments. Some said their local markets are suffering because of the economy.

West — “Not good. Nearby businesses are dropping their rate to 75 cents per top loader!”
Midwest — “Maybe fair at best. The national media keeps reporting the economy is in the upswing, but I do not see or believe it.”
West — “The economic slowdown did not impact our rural area as quickly as most of the nation but is affecting us now. I had the lowest income in 14 years during November-January.”
Northeast — “Too much competition, but I am the best.”

Respondents were also asked about drop-off-service sales for February (compared to February 2011). Every region reported sales were up, but there was quite a bit of difference in two of the regions compared to the others.

In the Midwest, where 71.4% of respondents have offered drop-off service for two years or more, sales were up 7.1%. Twenty-one percent don’t offer drop-off service, and 7.1% didn’t offer drop-off service last year but they do now.

Southern operators saw their drop-off-service sales rise 6% in February from the previous year. Eighty percent of the respondents have offered this extra-profit service for at least two years.

Sales increases were much less in the Northeast (0.5%) and the West (0.4%). Fifty percent of Northeast operators have offered drop-off service for at least two years, while 58.3% of West operators have offered the service during that time.

“Coin laundry flat, but oil drilling clothes for drop-off is great income,” says a Midwest operator.

“We ran a great promo in February that really boosted drop-off,” adds another. “Drop-off is thegrowth segment for our business.”

AmericanCoinOp.com’s StatShot includes information on sales, wages, costs or other financial data based on anonymous survey information provided by industry owners and operators.

Audience members are invited to participate in these unscientific surveys, which are conducted online via a partner website, on a regular basis. Self-service laundry operators are encouraged to participate, as a greater number of responses will help to better define industry trends.

February 29, 2012

StatShot: Regions Report Upswings in Laundry Sales for January and 2011 Year

CHICAGO — While overall sales results were positive, respondents’ comments were more varied

CHICAGO — Every region of the country reported small sales increases in January, fresh off a year that saw coin laundry sales rise more significantly compared to the prior year, according to results of the latest AmericanCoinOp.com StatShot survey.

Sales in January were modestly higher compared to January 2011 figures. The Midwest enjoyed the largest upswing at 3.7%, followed by the Northeast at 1%, the South at 0.9% and the West at 0.3%.

The 2011 numbers were much glossier when compared to 2010 results. Here, the South led the pack with a 9.6% sales increase, followed closely by the Northeast at 7.6%. Sales rose 6.5% in the West compared to 2010, and the Midwest saw a 2% increase.

Nationally, self-service laundry operators who responded to the unscientific survey averaged a 1.4% sales increase in January compared to January 2011 and a 6.5% sales increase in calendar year 2011 from 2010.

While the overall sales results were positive, respondents’ anonymous comments about their local market conditions were more varied.

Some of the good:

West: “Business has noticeably picked up. I also see a lot of new faces. I did add cable TV, but could that have made that big a difference?”
Midwest: “Slow just like everywhere else, but laundries are doing fine.”
Northeast: “I think people that do not regularly use the (Laundromat) are using them more for large items. Also, there are more people living in apartments in our area.”
South: “Houston has replaced all jobs lost since the beginning of the great recession and the labor market here continues to improve every month!”

Some of the bad:

South: “Slow.”
West: “Soft at best. Local mines are running but over half the population depends on a government check.”
Northeast: “Loss of customers.”
Midwest: “Stagnant and iffy.”

The StatShot includes information on sales, wages, costs or other financial data based on anonymous survey information provided by industry owners and operators.

Audience members are invited to participate in these unscientific surveys, which are conducted online via a partner website. Self-service laundry operators are encouraged to participate, as a greater number of responses will help to better define industry trends.

January 25, 2012

StatShot: Three of Four Regions Post December, Fourth-Quarter Sales Increases

CHICAGO — Self-service laundry sales rose in the West, Midwest and Northeast in December, while Southern operators saw sales drop for a second straight month, according to the most recent AmericanCoinOp.com unscientific StatShot survey.

The Northeast saw the biggest month-over-month sales increase (compared to December 2010) of 8.4%. The Midwest and West each posted 4.4% increases. The South was down 6.5%, after having been down 0.7% the previous month.

One Western operator raised prices 10%, with turns per day unchanged. Wash-dry-fold sales were up 26%. “I have only laundries in county of 30,000. I think WDF (is) up because of subcontractors here for restart of copper mines.”

“Construction in the area has brought in out-of-state workers with drop-off laundry” amid an improving economy, a Midwestern operator reports.

Respondents were also asked about their 2011 fourth-quarter sales (compared to 2010 fourth-quarter sales).

Fourth-quarter sales rose 7.4% in the Northeast, 4.5% in the West, and 3.7% in the Midwest. Southern operators experienced a 7.1% decrease in the final quarter of 2011.

“(We) used coupons more this year, and less snow meant less days closed to weather,” says one Midwestern operator who also reported increased theft of laundry carts, presumably for metal scrap value.

“My sales were up, I believe, because first we expanded and added another 15 washers and 20 dryers, and we got a better mechanic to fix our machines so we have way less ‘out of orders’ than before,” reports a Western operator.

A Southern operator reported having a record quarter for wash-dry-fold business, up more than 30% from the previous best quarter.

AmericanCoinOp.com’s StatShot includes information on sales, wages, costs or other financial data based on anonymous survey information provided by industry owners and operators.

Audience members are invited to participate in these unscientific surveys, which are conducted online via a partner website, on a regular basis. Self-service laundry operators are encouraged to participate, as a greater number of responses will help to better define industry trends.

September 28, 2011

StatShot: West is Big Winner in August Sales, First-Half Profits

CHICAGO – The West is the only region that reported increased August sales from one year ago and greater profits for the first half of 2011, according to the latest AmericanCoinOp.com StatShot survey.

Self-service laundry operators in the West reported August sales were up 7.7% compared to August 2010, and that their first-half profits were up 8.1% compared to the first half of 2010.

In the Northeast, August 2011 sales were up 1.8% from the previous August while first-half profits for this year were down 5.8% compared to the first six months of 2010.

All of the numbers were in the red for operators in the South and the Midwest. Sales in the South were down 2.0% in August from the previous August, while profits were down 4.1% when comparing first-half 2011 to 2010. The Midwest’s August sales declined 5% from August 2010; the region’s first-half profits were down 4.7% compared to 2010’s first six months.

Even with things looking good, the Western operators who offered comments still leaned toward the negative. “Utilities are increasing anywhere from 3.5% in one town to more than double in another!” says one. “Only frequent, non-quarter-increment price increases will keep operators afloat long term in this market.”

“Cost is going up, and everything else is going downhill,” remarked a Northeastern operator.

In the South, “(our) second-quarter sales were down 4.5% compared to first-quarter sales due primarily to higher gasoline prices,” says one operator. Another says their municipality’s water rates “literally doubled” beginning in August.

In the struggling Midwest, which has failed to make it into positive territory in sales all year, one operator reports having taken a number of steps to turn a profit.

“We implemented many new ways (to) cut the cost of doing business. We installed a new hot water heater, added insulation, (and) dropped the landline phone and added a cell to our existing cell phone contract and kept the same number. Garbage is picked up [every other week] rather than weekly without any problem with overflow. … Income was down but because of the cost-cutting measures, our profit was up a bit.”

AmericanCoinOp.com’s StatShot includes information on sales, wages, costs and other financial data based on anonymous survey information provided by industry owners and operators.

Audience members are invited to participate in these unscientific surveys, which are conducted online via a partner website, on a regular basis. All self-service laundry operators are encouraged to participate, as a greater number of responses will help to better define industry trends.

May 31, 2011

American Coin-Op Publisher Buys Magazine from Crain Communications, Launches New Website

CHICAGO — Charles Thompson, the longtime publisher of American Coin-Op, has purchased the magazine from Crain Communications Inc. effective June 1. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

American Trade Magazines LLC (ATM) will continue to publish American Coin-Op, as well as American Drycleaner and American Laundry News, from offices in Chicago.

Leading ATM is President and Publisher Charles Thompson, who maintains overall responsibility for the magazine’s editorial, production, circulation, promotion and sales operations.

Thompson joined Crain Communications as Midwest sales manager in 1989 and was promoted to national sales manager in 1994, associate publisher in 1997 and publisher in 1998.

“We are excited to be able to give these titles a more entrepreneurial approach,” he says. “In this new environment, we will be better able to react more quickly to our markets’ wants and needs. We will also be expanding into new markets in the coming months. We have a great team in place to take American Trade Magazines to a new level.”

Thompson has retained three ATM veterans to ensure the publications’ continuity while exploring new growth opportunities.

Editorial Director Bruce Beggs has been the editor of American Laundry News since 1999. He is now responsible for the editorial content for all three publications, utilizing the diverse talents of industry experts and freelance contributors.

National Sales Director Donald Feinstein oversees all advertising sales for the group’s print publications and digital media products. Feinstein joined Crain Communications in 1996 and helped produce a dozen business and trade publications over several years. He joined ATM in 2001 as the group’s production manager, overseeing the transition to an all-digital workflow. In 2005, he moved into ad sales and became Eastern regional sales manager.

Digital Media Director Nathan Frerichs joined ATM as web editor in 2010. After many years working as a print writer, designer and photographer, Frerichs crossed the digital divide in 2003 and hasn’t looked back. His responsibilities now include developing and designing the three publications’ websites, e-newsletters and other new-media projects.

Advising Thompson will be John S. Suhler, co-founder and general partner of Veronis Suhler Stevenson, a private equity and debt capital fund management company that invests in the media industry. For much of his operational career, Suhler was a senior manager/publisher/president in educational, professional and consumer publishing.

One of ATM’s first orders of new business will be the unveiling of new websites. The resource-driven, user-friendly sites—AmericanCoinOp.com, AmericanDrycleaner.com and AmericanLaundryNews.com—have been reimagined and retooled.

ATM will be exhibiting at the Clean Show June 6-9 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, and the staff invites attendees to stop by Booth 1175 to learn more about the magazines and see demonstrations of the new websites.

Until the company relocates to its new offices in Chicago, staff members may be reached by cell phone or e-mail: