CHICAGO — With the start of a new year just days away, this is a natural opportunity to reflect on 2022 and the top 10 stories (based on page views) posted here on AmericanCoinOp.com during the year.
(In instances where the Top 10 story was part of a larger series, we have provided additional links so you can easily read the entire article.)
Here is our Top 10 list for 2022, starting with No. 10:
10. Wash/Dry/Fold Operations: From A to Z, Part 1 – Conclusion
Two store owners who run successful wash/dry/fold (WDF) businesses within their laundromats offered cautionary tales along with tips for expanding beyond self-serve during a Coin Laundry Association webinar.
In “Wash/Dry/Fold Operations: From A to Z,” California’s Ross Dodds, who owns several Luxe Laundries in the Los Angeles area, and Washington state’s Colleen Unema, who owns Brio Laundry near the Canada border, described their strategies for finding customers, staffing, order tracking, and other criteria that goes into offering WDF.
9. Tumble Smart Laundry Gains $7M in Seed Funding
In November, smart laundry technology platform Tumble reported it had raised $7 million in seed funding to “modernize the shared laundry experience and transform outdated machines into revenue-generating assets.”
Funding was to be used to scale its proprietary software platform—powering an all-digital experience from cashless payment to cycle tracking and machine security—to serve rental properties and residents nationwide, and soon consumers with a new pickup-and-delivery (PU/D) service, according to Tumble.
8. Financing a Laundromat in Uncertain Times, Part 1 – Part 2 – Part 3 – Conclusion
For small-business investors, especially those trying to get into the laundry industry for the first time, securing financing for a laundromat can be challenging under normal circumstances. When events like a public health crisis create economic doubts, the process takes on added weight.
In April, American Coin-Op polled a handful of manufacturers and commercial lenders on the state of lending, how the laundry industry had responded to the pandemic, and the best approach to take to get laundromat financing approved.
7. Maximizing Your Signs’ Effectiveness, Part 1 – Conclusion
All businesses must have signs, wrote columnist Paul Russo, but laundromats rely on them more than others. Mat owners are reminded of this on a regular basis, because problems often arise because a customer didn’t read the signs/instructions, or didn’t understand what the sign was saying.
Russo suggested a number of ways to boost signage effectiveness, including using the right choice of languages for your customer base, proper sign positioning, sign construction, and more.
6. Small Laundry Upgrades That Can Have an Impact
Guest columnist Tod Sorensen from Girbau North America and Continental Girbau West believes you don’t have to wait to elevate your laundry until it’s time to retool. Making little upgrades along the way, small improvements in technology and offerings, can make a big difference in how well a laundromat attracts and retains customers.
Sorensen detailed several possible upgrades, including adding a Family Read, Play & Learn Space; installing large-capacity washers; offering automatic chemical injection; installing advanced washer controls; adding ozone sanitization; and investing in a point-of-sale system.
Check back Thursday when we unveil our top five articles of 2022!
Have a question or comment? E-mail our editor Bruce Beggs at [email protected].
