CHICAGO — More than half of the coin laundry owners and operators polled (52.7%) in this quarter’s American Coin-Op Your Views survey say they plan to attend next month’s Clean Show in Las Vegas.
Roughly 35% have decided that they will not attend the biennial trade show, and the remaining 12.7% were unsure at the time of the unscientific survey.
Whether attending or not, equal shares of 15.1% of operators say the biggest draw to attending the Clean Show is either the various “exhibits of equipment, systems and supplies” or the “educational sessions.”
Roughly 13% say they’re most drawn by the prospect of “combining business and pleasure.” Still another 11.3% point to “networking and socializing.”
For the majority of respondents (45.3%), the biggest draw is, no surprise, “all of the above.”
The Coin Laundry Association is sponsoring several educational sessions during the show’s four-day run. The topic generating the most interest among survey respondents (32.1%) is Great by Design: What Laundromats Can Learn from Latest Retail Trends.
Other sessions garnering some healthy pre-show buzz, according to the survey results, are WiFi in Your Laundromat: Best Practices for Security & Marketing, Drycleaners & Laundromat Owners: Partnering for Future Profits (co-sponsored by the Drycleaning & Laundry Institute), All Things Facebook: How to Grow Your Laundromat Sales, and Maximizing Labor Efficiency in Your Wash-Dry-Fold Operation.
Store owners and operators who’ve attended the Clean Show were asked, “If you had one tip to share with a first-timer, what would it be?”
- “Learn as much as you can about the industry.”
- “Have an agenda for who/what you want to visit. Take time to enjoy the setting, as well as the venue.”
- “Be ready to walk—a lot! Have questions ready for your vendors, and be receptive to their new products.”
- “Plan to attend every training seminar you can, whether it is coin-op-focused or not.”
- “If having problems with equipment and want to discuss with manufacturers, be prepared. Take model numbers, pictures and even records of how much time you have spent dealing with the problem.”
- “Walk through the show a second day. It’s surprising what you miss the first time through and learn on your second visit.”
- “Fly in a few days early so you can get all the debauchery out of your system. Now, you can actually be alert and conscious during daytime.”
Among those who can’t make this year’s event, or who are unsure if they will attend, they were asked to identify the most important factor against a visit. The majority (31.0%) report that they “can’t spare the time.”
Roughly 21% have “made other plans,” 17.2% say they “can’t afford the cost,” and 6.9% say the Clean Show “does not interest me.”
Nearly one-quarter of respondents pointed to “other” factors, of which a dislike for Vegas was mentioned frequently.
American Coin-Op’s Your Views survey presents an unscientific snapshot of the trade audience’s viewpoints at a particular moment. Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.
Subscribers to American Coin-Op e-mails are invited to participate anonymously in an industry survey each quarter. The entire American Coin-Op audience is encouraged to participate, as a greater number of responses will help to better define owner/operator opinions and industry trends.
Have a question or comment? E-mail our editor Bruce Beggs at [email protected].