CHICAGO — A majority of businesses polled in the 2024 American Coin-Op Distributor Survey report their total business sales grew in 2023 when compared to the previous year, a positive sign for the self-service laundry industry.
Sixty percent of distributors who took the annual survey say that their total business sales—including sales of newly constructed vended laundries and replacement business—were higher in 2023 compared to 2022. That’s up three percentage points from the year before.
Fifteen percent of respondents say their 2023 total sales were lower than 2022’s, and 25% say that business was the same or similar compared to the prior year.
As for how distributors expect their 2024 overall sales will compare to those of 2023’s, roughly 47% of those polled are predicting brighter things this year.
Distributors listed in the previous edition of the American Coin-Op Distributors Directory were invited to participate in this year’s unscientific survey, which charts 2023 business and makes comparisons to previous years. In this summary report, certain percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.
TOTAL YEARLY SALES FOR 2023
This year, 60% of distributors who were polled said their yearly sales were better in 2023 than 2022. In comparison to recent years, 57% of distributors said 2022 business was better than 2021’s and 60% of distributors said 2021 business was better than 2020’s.
The shares of distributors reporting better business in prior annual surveys was 45.5% in 2021, 67.7% in 2020, 56.3% in 2019, 53.1% in 2018, and 63.6% in 2017.
Some of those who said their 2023 total sales were higher attributed their company’s performance to expansion of existing store locations; more store retools and remodels; and greater availability of equipment and parts.
Some whose business suffered last year blamed it on greater competition; certain manufacturers choosing to compete against distributors; suppressed vend pricing; and higher inflation and utilities cost.
REPLACEMENT BUSINESS
In the arena of replacement business, the results moderated somewhat after a big post-pandemic bounce-back in last year’s poll. Fifty-five percent of distributors polled said their 2023 replacement business sales were higher compared to 2022’s. By comparison, roughly 71% of distributors surveyed last year said that segment was up for them in 2022 compared to 2021, and 55% surveyed two years ago said it was up for them in 2021 compared to 2020.
In older surveys, the share was 31.8% in 2021 (results included the first nine months of the pandemic), 61% in 2020, 58% in 2019, 68% in 2018 and 62% in 2017.
Ten percent of respondents say they saw their 2023 replacement business decrease from that of 2022’s, while 35% say that business segment was the same or similar.
NEW-LAUNDRY CONSTRUCTION
American Coin-Op asked distributors to list the number of new laundries they built and/or supplied equipment to in 2023.
In this year’s survey, the share of distributors that built and/or supplied equipment to three or fewer stores accounted for 50% of respondents, which mirrored the survey results for 2022. In previous polling, that number was 46.7% for 2021, 47.8% for 2020, 51.7% for 2019, 58.6% for 2018, and 62.1% for 2017.
Distributors building and/or supplying equipment to four or more new laundries in 2023 represented 50% of the total, which also mirrored prior survey results. That compares to 53.3% in 2021, 52.2% in 2020, 48.3% in 2019, 41.4% in 2018 and 37.9% in 2017.
The actual number of new laundries that distributors were involved with in some way in 2023 ranged from none to one respondent reporting his/her company dealt with 150 new stores.
Forty percent of distributors polled said their new-construction sales total for 2023 was higher than the previous year’s. In last year’s poll for 2022 results, that share was 36%. In older surveys, the new-construction total was up for 45% for 2021, 46% for 2020, 62% for 2019, 46.9% for 2018 and 23.3% for 2017.
Twenty percent of distributors surveyed said their new-construction sales total was lower in 2023 than in 2022. In previous polls, the share was 36% for 2022, 30% for 2021, 32% for 2020, 10% for 2019, 22% for 2018 and 47% for 2017.
The remaining 20% of distributors polled said their new-construction sales total for 2023 remained the same or was similar to the prior year’s. That compares to 28.6% for 2022, 25% for 2021, 23% for 2020, 29% for 2019, 31% for 2018 and 30% for 2017.
Coming in Part 2 Thursday: Equipment mix, and surveying store size
Have a question or comment? E-mail our editor Bruce Beggs at [email protected].
