You know, we all thought of restaurants getting creamed when the pandemic hit. After all, we weren’t allowed to congregate indoors. And, our government came up with some nifty programs to give them cash to keep their employees on staff- and their business able to roll.
But, we forgot about another class of business.
That’s the segment that afforded me my first paychecks. Dry cleaners. (I’ve written about Harry Mazur, Cary Rollner, Arlee, and the International Fabricare Institute [now known as the Drycleaning and Laundry Institute] often.)
The problem with this industry is manifold.
We all stopped going to the office. So, we stopped wearing our “fancy clothes”. Some of us stopped wearing clothes, sticking with pajamas and bathrobes. Others went for sweat suits, shorts, and the like.
Which meant that there was no need to have one’s clothes dry cleaned or our shirts pressed. In other words, no potential revenue for the dry cleaners of this world.
On top of that, raw material costs have skyrocketed- dry cleaning solvent, natural gas, starch, not to mention hangers (which doubled in cost from $ 40 a box to $ 80 a box), steam irons and the like. And, payroll? It was always tough finding and keeping on talented pressers, dry cleaning operators, and the like- but with the labor shortage and the rise in wages, this became even more difficult. So, it’s not surprising to find that at least 30% of the dry cleaners have simply run dry and closed shop.
Those that are remaining in business are going to hit up their customers with some pretty steep increases- on the order of 10% price rise. Moreover, with Zoom and no in person meetings, a lot of the stuff brought into the dry cleaners are shirts- low ticket items. Folks probably are wearing shorts since the Zoom meeting doesn’t show our full body look.
And, now that I am able to walk and drive, I am not looking forward to the costs I’ll incur to get my outfits ably drycleaned.
There are always winners and losers if the economy changes. Over time, however, people are flexible and adjust. Back then people were afraid that computers were going to take away their jobs. Turns out modern technology does not always make our lives easier and requires lots of computer specialists.
I hope the dry cleaning industry people will find a new trade or niche.
I am not quite sure this was a “change in the economy”. A change in circumstance- for sure.
Those who wear suits and dresses for their stints in the office, for weddings, for events- they will need to find viable dry cleaning establishments, too.
Well, this is a very, very good point. It is amazing that any Dry Cleaners were able to stay in business. That is crazy that even coat hangers have doubled in price. Yes, same with me, I used to have something dry cleaned at least monthly, but now for 2 years have not needed them. Diana
For a time, I was a weekly visitor to the dry cleaners. Since my ailment (which slightly predated the pandemic), I wore shorts and Tshirts- and had zero need for such services.
Soany businesses lost so much because of COVID. On a happy note, I’m glad you finally able to walk and drive.
Me, too! I have been looking forward to being mobile for more than 2 years, Martha!
Thanks for the great wishes.
Hey Roy, thank you for mentioning this group of businesses that were hit so hard but don’t hear much about on the news etc. I can’t believe hangers doubled in price. Insanity. 🙁 May this crap but over soon and our lives begin to look “normal” again. Thanks again for sharing this post.
Samantha-
We tend not to think about certain businesses- until we actually need their services.
Thanks for the visit and the comment.
You speak the truth, once again! (and as usual!)
Your commentary is 100% spot-on for me personally. I can tell you, within the last 2 years, I have only worn my suit on 3 occasions and unfortunately, they were funerals.
Even though business is being conducted on video (via Zoom and Teams), I personally think the attire mindset has dropped considerably, I am in various networking groups that meet virtually (some more structured and formal than others) and have experienced someone calling in while still laying in bed!
I dress up for my calls, as I would if I were meeting clients. I do dress more casually ever since I left my corporate job, but in the wintertime, I wear my long-sleeve button-down, dry clean/press shirts.
I will confess, after the meeting, I take it off, and hang it back up. I can get several ‘wearings’ of a shirt before bringing it to the dry cleaners.
Nothing wrong with being frugal, Paul- and still ensuring that you can present the best image to your networking groups.
Thanks for the visit and the comment.
I haven’t used a dry cleaner in years so I had no idea of this (dry cleaning; I did know about the casual clothing wave and, in fact, was part of it.). Hopefully, I won’t have a funeral to go to for a while. There may be a couple of weddings in my future, too, so I am now prepared to be shocked.
Assuming you can find a convenient- LOCAL- establishment still operating, Alana.