How two states affect an entire nation
Think the perc bans in California and New Jersey won’t affect you if you don’t live in those states? How much influence can two states have over the entire
country? We saw last month the influence voters in two relatively small states
have in a presidential election. So consider how new regulations in two larger
states might affect the drycleaning industry nationwide.
When California adopted a phase-out of perc last year, regulators estimated that
about 70 percent of the drycleaning machines in that state used perc. That’s more than 3,600 machines that will have to go between now and 2023, most of
them much earlier than that due to the phase-out schedule. If New Jersey
follows through with its plan to do away away with perc, that state’s drycleaners will have even less time to install alternatives. All perc
equipment would be gone from that state by 2021 and, again, much earlier in
many cases due to the phase-out schedule.
That’s more than 5,000 perc machines in just two states that will need to be replaced
over the next few years, assuming the operators want to stay in business.
If you are a cleaner in, say, Iowa or New Hampshire and think this won’t affect you, think again. At some point in the next five or 10 years you will
want to buy a new cleaning machine. Suppose you want a perc machine. Who will
be building perc machines that can’t be sold in a good chunk of the U.S. market? Suppose you want an alternative
solvent machine? Get in line with the thousands of cleaners in California, New
Jersey and elsewhere. Suppose you are able to buy the machine you want. Who
will install it? There’ll be steady work for installers in the bigger perc-banning states; maybe not so
much in others. They’ll follow the money.
The anti-perc actions in two states will have ramifications nationwide. Count on
it and plan for it.
A Hollywood tale you don’t want to hear
For many Americans, the ongoing Writer’s Guild of America strike simply means enduring the heartbreak of having fewer
Lost episodes this season. However, such inconvenience pales in comparison to
the legitimate loss felt by those in Hollywood. According to a recent report on
NBC Nightly News, the entertainment industry has lost a billion dollars
altogether — if you take into consideration the vanished wages to cast and crew members of
television and film productions, as well as other services provided to them by
janitorial companies, caterers, prop and costume rental companies and the like.
The drycleaning industry in southern California is also feeling quite a sting.
According to CNBC.com correspondent Jane Wells in her article, “Dry Cleaners: The New Economic Measuring Stick?,” drycleaning is one of the first expenses local residents have cut back on since
the strike began months ago. Several out-of-work writers are coming to the
cleaners less, as well as many actors. Wells spoke with Milt and Edie’s and North Ranch Cleaners, and both have felt the profit pinch firsthand. In
fact, in a poll on CNBC’s web site, consumers were asked if they have been cutting back on their
drycleaning bills lately. Only 42 percent said “No,” while 43 percent checked “Yes” and another 15 percent voted “Somewhat.”
The situation in southern California is an excellent reminder of the need for
cleaners everywhere to cut costs and add revenue sources all the time. This
month, we have good advice along those lines. Don Desrosiers writes about
kicking the employee overtime habit in his column. Then, there is the drycleaner’s best friend: diversification. Ray Colucci offers up ideas on venturing out with new services. Also, Harvey Gershenson discusses the dangers of being a market follower. After all, cleaners who take the initiative to lead can dictate the
battlefield for their business.
If plant owners and managers cannot find the answers they seek in National
Clothesline this month, then they would be wise to make the trip to New Orleans
Feb. 22-23 for DLI’s Five-Star Management Conference, an excellent source for cleaners to see what problems might lie in the
industry’s future, and how best to prepare for them. As is the case with the writer’s strike, not all of the industry’s problems can be predicted. However, it does reinforce the idea that cleaners
are better off taking the initiative and planning for the worst — even while they hope for their own Hollywood ending.
