“The waiting is the hardest part.” – Tom Petty, from “The Waiting”
Although many of us initially assumed this classic rock staple from Tom Petty was yet another song about pining for the return to that special someone, Petty himself actually described it as an optimistic number about waiting on good things to happen.
When thinking ahead to the return of the Clean Show after three long years away, it’s the sense of anticipation that resonates with me these days.
It has been too long. The pandemic pushed our industry gathering back by a full year – a year that itself has brought new challenges from rising natural gas costs to labor challenges, from supply chain disruptions to inflationary pressures on the bottom line. The Clean Show – to be held July 30-August 2 in Atlanta – serves as an opportunity to collectively celebrate the industry’s incredible response to the COVID pandemic and the dogged resiliency our business continues to exhibit year in and year out, facing each and every obstacle. Your ability to confront and counterpunch against challenge continues to inspire me.
Since we were last together for a Clean Show in 2019, we have seen unprecedented retooling and remodeling of existing laundries, rising investor demand for laundromats, increasing store valuations, exploding growth in wash-dry-fold and pickup-and-delivery services with all of the associated technological advances, and rapidly scaling multi-store operations… to name just a few positive trends.
Simply put, the average laundromat is doing a far superior job of taking care of its customers – and the best laundromats are simply blowing away customers with modern technology-forward facilities, larger-capacity machines, and a shorter wash-day experience. What’s more, the last three years also have unleashed the incredible impact of our LaundryCares Foundation for the benefit of the under-resourced neighborhoods we serve.
As laid out in CLA Board Chair Ted Ristaino’s column on this page a few months ago, the Coin Laundry Association needs to evolve with the changing needs of the industry as well. We are pursuing a refreshed strategic roadmap that focuses our efforts on the most pressing needs of the industry, while updating our investments in marketing, social media and technology to pave the way. We will tackle the challenge of updating our non-profit revenue model so that we can consistently generate the resources required to offer the best in advocacy, education, networking and supporting business solutions for our members. Come to Atlanta and get a first look at what the CLA has in store for you.
By attending Clean ’22, you will join a community that’s pushing the laundromat industry forward, as you gain further insight into how to personally navigate today’s ongoing business changes. The CLA will be hosting hours of peer-generated educational sessions and plenty of networking opportunities for you. Spend time with like-minded laundry owners, and learn even more from those whose vision may differ from yours.
If past is prologue, we will see more change in the next three years than during any other time in our history. More than ever, we need to work together to equip ourselves with the skills essential to keeping this seemingly impossible industry winning streak alive for years to come.
