National Clothesline

As many of you know, I had the opportunity to go to Tampa to hear a nationally known speaker and author discuss the topic of preparing yourself for the 21st century based on demographics from generation to generation.

Like many of the attendees, we had our doubts and concerns about how this “outsider” would relate to us.

Well, all of us are still talking about Ken Gronbach and how important it is for the drycleaning industry read his book, The Age Curve.

Simply put, I am going to give you my cliff notes version of his seminar and add my usual comments.

For those that follow the various generations, this may be an intellectual insult to you, but stay with me; it may and should change the way you look at the future, the economy and your business.

Numbers don’t lie and, quite frankly, we often look only three months ahead instead of what lies three years from now. But for our industry, some good news awaits, so hear me out.

Ken’s subtitle was “How to profit from the coming demographic storm.” Many of us feel wiped out already and, yes, there is some explanation to that.

For example, there is a big difference in the number of Baby Boomers compared to Generation X. Demographics 101 tells you that if you have a group of 1,000 people and a group of 500 people, which one is going to be more likely to do drycleaning? To send kids to school? To die?

Well, it is pretty obvious, the larger group increases the odds for more business. The Silent Generation was from 1925 to 1944 and, due to the Great Depression and other woes, fewer kids were born.

The Baby Boomers came around and we had an explosion of births in the United States. The core spenders now are from 34 to 54, so do your math. That is why Generation X with 9 million fewer births spends less.

Schools closed, motorcycle sales were down and yes, drycleaning was down, as well.

More specifically, the age group of 45-54 carry a good part of the income in the U.S. This makes it so much easier for us to predict the future if we do the math.

This is one reason the SUV market rebuilt and thus destroyed Detroit. As Ken Gronbach clarified it even more, the Baby Boomers needed larger family cars until the kids left.

Then, the Generation X’ers came around with nine million fewer births from 1965 to 1984 and look what happened — less of a need of SUVs. Detroit was counting on the trends of the previous spending needs and produced more SUVs rather than fewer.

Throw in the uncontrollable of higher gas prices and now what?

This can relate to our industry as well. Ken brought up how women make up 60 percent of the college crowd in today’s world.

What does that mean? Well, that women are going to be leading more businesses in the future.

With Generation Y coming up and more U.S. births than Generation X, college grads are going to experience a larger unemployment percentage in their desired field. Thus, they are going to work harder and dress for success.

The age group of 25-34 usually dresses nicer to attract mates.

With all this being said, it is translating to good news for our industry.

First of all, Generation Y, with more women business leaders, will equate to more drycleaning needs. Already job placement coaches and college recruiters are promoting various “Dress for Success” strategies.

More influx of Generation Y’ers nearing the 25-34 range will mean more drycleaning needs.

Do the math. More of more equates to more! In 10 years, they will be in the 35-44 range competing for better jobs, thus more drycleaning.

Ten years later will mean more core income and thus… OK, you get the point.

Ken forecasts that we will see a resurgence of small businesses and thus more money for all with more spending.

What does that mean? Well, you better be building and solidifying route customers.

The fashion industry will be bigger and better than ever. Fewer customers mean they are taking fewer risks in creating clothing.

We will see an influx of higher end clothing, and you know what that means.

One interesting adjustment that is occurring is that men are getting in to the trade industries more. They can make more money being an auto mechanic than a lawyer.

Thus, the uniform needs will increase drastically. Plan accordingly.

With all this being said, Ken presented the group with simple but measurable and documented facts and stirred the emotion in all of us. He hit us head-on with truth and more truth.

It is up to us to decide whether we stay “frozen in time” or prepare for the future.

As a consultant, I strive learn five things every time I see a guest speaker. From Ken Gronbach, I learned 55 things. We must adjust to the needs of the upcoming generation and prepare ourselves now.

One thing that makes sense is that more Gen Y’ers are going to be competing for jobs and thus they will be working harder and longer. Add that to the Gen X’ers who will be working harder and longer to keep their job. They will need more convenience than ever and thus a bigger need for routes.

There is good news, but the simple fact is that you are going to have to change your mind set.

Ken Gronbach presented our group with facts and ideas and stirred many of us to think outside the box even more, especially with all the good news that lies ahead.