CHICAGO — Nearly 57% of the self-service laundry owners and operators polled in this quarter’s American Coin-Op Your Views survey say they plan to attend the July 30-Aug. 2 Clean Show in Atlanta.
Roughly 30% have decided that they will not attend the trade show—convening for the first time in three years due to a pandemic delay—and the remaining 13.5% were unsure at the time of the unscientific survey.
Whether attending or not, 63.2% say the biggest factor in favor of visiting Clean is all that it has to offer: exhibits of equipment, systems and supplies; education sessions; and networking and socializing.
Nearly 16% say the biggest draw is the education sessions, while 13.2% point to the exhibits (at present, nearly 350 companies have reserved booth space). The remaining 7.9% are drawn to the networking and socializing opportunities the event presents.
There will be roughly 30 hours of education programming during Clean, and the Coin Laundry Association is presenting several sessions. Among them, the topic generating the most interest among survey respondents (84.6%) is “The Next Generation of Laundromats,” with “Tips and Tools for Evaluating New Laundromat Technology” running a close second (76.9%). Another popular topic is “Maximizing Your Laundromat’s WDF and Pickup & Delivery Business” (61.5%).
Among the general sessions, “2022 Economy – Are We Ever Going to See Normal?” (71.8%), “Attracting & Managing the New Generation of Workforce” (48.7%) and “Where to Start? Tips for Entering the Commercial Laundry Industry” (41.0%) are garnering the most pre-show buzz.
Store owners and operators who’ve attended Clean before were asked to share a tip for first-timers. Here are some of their answers:
- “Spend enough time to talk to vendors. Don’t rush it.”
- “Pick the educational sessions you want to attend and then explore the floor.”
- “Pace yourself. If you’re not interested, politely move on. If you wait toward the end of the show, you will get more time for in-depth conversation.”
- “Take your time and see and learn what you are interested in. You can’t see it all in one day.”
- “Take the time to make the trip. One idea or contact that you get or make can change your success trajectory and pay for the entire show expense.”
Respondents who will not be attending Clean this year said they couldn’t spare the time (72.7%), couldn’t afford the cost (45.5%) and/or were missing it due to pandemic/health precautions or they had made other plans (27.3% each).
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 emails are invited to participate anonymously in an industry survey each quarter. The entire trade 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].