CHICAGO — Distributor business and industry outlook is on a continued upswing, as the majority polled in American Coin-Op’s annual Distributor Survey enjoyed better business than the previous year, and is expecting overall 2014 sales to surpass those of 2013.
More than half of distributors (53.7%) say that business—including sales of newly constructed self-service laundries and replacement business—was better in 2013 compared to 2012. When it comes to sales projections, the same percentage believes 2014 sales will be better than 2013’s.
Roughly 12% of respondents say 2013 business was worse than 2012’s, while 34.2% say business has stayed the same.
Every distributor listed in the American Coin-Op Distributors Directory was invited to participate in this year’s unscientific survey, which charts 2013 business and makes comparisons to previous years.
EQUIPMENT MIX
Perfecting the right equipment mix is critical for a coin laundry store’s success. Wondering what equipment more and more store owners and distributors are installing in coin laundries across the country? Here is a quick analysis on trends, according to this year’s survey.
Roughly 63% of new stores in 2013 had at least one top loader, a notable jump from 2012’s figure of 45%, and almost comparable to 58% of new stores in 2011.
Coin laundries newly constructed in 2013 have an average of 4.5 top loaders, compared to an average of 3.4 per new store in 2012. (These figures factor in stores with no top loaders).
Breaking it down, below are the most popular numbers of top loaders installed in new stores in 2013:
1) 0
2) 6
3) 5 and 10 (tie)
When it comes to front loaders, newly constructed coin laundries in 2013 have an average of 26.6 front loaders, a decrease from 2012’s average of 28.0 and 2011’s average of 30.0.
The most common number of front loaders installed in newly constructed laundries in 2013 was:
1) 20, 25 and 50 (tie)
4) 30
5) 40
Newly constructed coin laundries in 2013 have an average of 32.8 dryer pockets. This figure trends with previous averages, up only slightly from 2012’s average of 30.8 and down slightly from the average of 34.1 dryer pockets in 2011.
Below are the most common numbers of dryer pockets installed in newly built coin laundries in 2013:
1) 30
2) 20 and 0 (tie)
4) 28, 36, 40, 46, 50 and 60 (tie)
SURVEYING STORE SIZE
Are coin laundries taking up more real estate, or are store owners opting for more manageable, smaller stores?
Among the most popular store sizes, in square feet, reported in this year’s survey were 1,500; 2,500; 2,800; and 3,500.
An even 25% of the stores constructed in 2013 are 2,000 square feet or less, while 59% are between 2,000 and 3,000 square feet. Both figures are slight increases over 2012 results of 19% (2,000 square feet or less) and 52% (between 2,000 and 3,000 square feet).
The largest newly constructed laundry built last year covers 10,000 square feet, while the smallest is 700 square feet.
The average newly constructed coin laundry store for 2013 covers 2,663 square feet. Prior averages were 2,754 square feet (2012); 2,721 square feet (2011); 2,663 square feet (2010); 2,712 square feet (2009); and 2,743 square feet (2008).
The average selling price of a newly constructed store—not including the cost of land and building—in 2013 was $368,214, compared to 2012’s average of $386,591 and 2011’s $366,000.
Check back Monday for the conclusion!
Missed Part 1 of this story? You can read it HERE.
Have a question or comment? E-mail our editor Bruce Beggs at [email protected].