Dirty Bird Laundry

Ryan and Bernadette Hansen
Dirty Bird Laundry
Fresno, Calif.
www.DirtyBirdLaundry.com

Before Getting into the Laundry Business…

Ryan was the operations manager for a produce distributor, and Bernadette worked at Costco.

Store Openings

Store 1: November 2009 – Fresno
Store 2: March 2010 – Madera
Store 3: November 2010 – Greenfield
Store 4: May 2011 – Fresno
Store 5: March 2012 – Fresno
Store 6: March 2013 – Fresno
Store 7: October 2013 – Fresno
Store 8: April 2014 – Fresno
Store 9: October 2014 – Selma

Business Hours

All locations are open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.

Staff

There are 20 full-time employees, including a full-time manager.

Total Square Footage

Store 1: 3,000
Store 2: 2,800
Store 3: 2,800
Store 4: 2,500
Store 5: 3,000
Store 6: 1,450
Store 7: 3,300
Store 8: 3,300
Store 9: 2,800

Parking Spaces

Store 1: 23
Store 2: 17
Store 3: 21
Store 4: 30+
Store 5: 24
Store 6: 15
Store 7: 19
Store 8: 40
Store 9: 25

Lease or Own?

All of the Hansens’ stores are leased.

Length of Leases?

The Hansens have always signed 10-year leases, with two or three of them having five-year options. However, Ryan is considering going to five-year initial terms, with three or four five-year options.

“This way, if I hit a bad store, I’m not tied up for long,” Ryan said. “This would give me the opportunity to renegotiate the price if the market went down during that five-year period, but I would be protected if it went up, and have leverage with the landlord every five years.

“I always negotiate 90 days of free rent from the store opening day to build cash reserves, so you’re not paying interest on that money.”

New Store or Existing Laundry?

Ryan and Bernadette have built three new stores from the ground up and refurbished six.

The Process

They have remodeled stores in as little as four weeks, while some have taken several months. New construction usually takes about six months.

The Cost, Including Equipment

They have refurbished stores for as little as $25,000 after saving the existing equipment. The Hansens’ most expensive new construction project was $620,000, with $325,000 going toward equipment.

Turns Per Day

Most of their stores average seven turns per day. For new project projections (with similar demographics to similar stores), they see five turns per day. Most of their stores are free dry, and they keep vend prices very competitive, so people keep coming back. The Hansens’ business model is dependent on volume, rather than margin.

Utility Costs

Their utilities average 20.5 percent of gross sales for the nine stores. They have locations as low as 17 percent and as high as 25 percent. Stores built after 1996 are subject to significant additional sewer costs, which have added as much as $2,000 to a normal water bill during peak season. Additionally, all Dirty Bird Laundry locations offer free dry, so gas utilities tend to run a bit higher.

Marketplace Demographics

Ryan and Bernadette focus on areas based on the following demographics within one mile of a project:

• Population: At least 18,000
• Household Size: Prefer 3.0+
• Renter vs. Homeowner: Prefer a renter population of 60 percent or higher
• Income: Below $50,000

“We use this information with a standard formula to calculate projected available market revenue,” Ryan said. “Once we do this, we estimate the revenue for the existing laundries in the market and then project how our new store would impact the area.”

Competition

Dirty Bird Laundry competes with several competitors within one mile or less.

Payment Options

All of their stores have coin-operated machines, except for one location, which uses the ESD Cyberwash card system.

“This is nice, because this location is several hours away, so we don’t have to worry about constantly emptying and filling change machines,” Ryan said. “Instead of putting card readers on each machine, the transaction takes place on our point of sale system in the snack bar, and the attendant then starts the machine with a key.”

Washers and Dryers

All of the Hansens’ stores feature Speed Queen equipment.

Store 1 – Fresno
2 80-pound frontloaders, $9.00
6 60-pound frontloaders, $7.00
8 30-pound frontloaders, $3.75
8 20-pound frontloaders, $3.00
10 toploaders, $1.75

Store 2 – Madera
2 80-pound frontloaders, $5.50
5 60-pound frontloaders, $4.50
16 30-pound frontloaders, $3.00
12 Horizons, $1.75
10 toploaders, $1.25
22 30-pound stack dryers, 25 cents for 10 minutes
4 45-pound stack dryers, 25 cents for 8 minutes

Store 3 – Greenfield
2 80-pound frontloaders, $9.00
5 60-pound frontloaders, $7.00
16 30-pound frontloaders, $3.75
10 toploaders, $1.75

Store 4 – Fresno
2 80-pound frontloaders, $9.00
6 60-pound frontloaders, $7.00
12 30-pound frontloaders, $3.75
12 20-pound frontloaders, $3.00
8 toploaders, $1.75

Store 5 – Fresno
4 80-pound frontloaders, $9.00
7 60-pound frontloaders, $7.00
12 30-pound frontloaders, $3.75
6 40-pound frontloaders, $4.75
6 Horizons, $2.25
4 toploaders, $1.75

Store 6 – Fresno
2 60-pound frontloaders, $7.00
12 30-pound frontloaders, $3.75
5 toploaders, $1.75

Store 7 – Fresno
2 40-pound frontloaders, $4.75
6 30-pound frontloaders, $3.75
6 20-pound frontloaders, $3.00
6 Horizons, $3.00
4 toploaders, $1.75

Store 8 – Fresno
4 80-pound frontloaders, $9.00
6 60-pound frontloaders, $7.00
10 40-pound frontloaders, $4.75

10 30-pound frontloaders, $3.75
12 Horizons, $3.00
5 toploaders, $1.75

Store 9 – Selma
2 80-pound frontloaders, $9.00
4 60-pound frontloaders, $7.00
16 30-pound frontloaders, $3.75
10 toploaders, $1.75

Water Heating System

RBI water heaters in eight stores and Paloma tankless units in one laundry

Card System

ESD Cyberwash card system in one location

Bill Changers

Standard Change-Makers

Laundry Carts

R&B Wire Products laundry carts – the smaller stores have six carts, and the large stores have 20.

Folding Tables

The older stores have built-in laminate tables, and the newer and remodeled stores have granite folding tables. “It’s not just for looks, but also for durability,” Ryan said “Granite has come down in price and is an economical option.”

Flooring

Seven locations have VCT tile, but two stores have polished concrete. “Eventually, all of our stores will be transitioned to polished concrete,” Ryan said.

Lighting

T-8 or LED

Snacks and Soap

The stores have snack/soap bars, or the Hansens subcontract at an 80-20 split. Stores with snack/soap bars sell many brands and sizes of soap, depending on the region. Small boxes are 75 cents, and large Tide or Downy containers cost up to $12.

Arcade Games

They subcontract with a 50-50 split.

Televisions

They have anywhere from one to four TVs per store.

Children’s Play Area

All stores have a “kid’s corner” with a chalkboard and Dirty Bird-themed coloring outlines.

Additional Amenities

A pickup and delivery service, as well as lottery tickets

Marketing

“We are heavily focused on branding and multiple avenues of marketing, since we have so many locations of Dirty Bird Laundry,” Ryan said. “Having nine locations requires us to utilize branding in order to leverage and maximize market share that only operators with a large footprint can enjoy.”

Dirty Bird Laundry’s marketing channels include radio, Yelp, television, direct mail, flyers and its website.

Wash-Dry-Fold Service

$1 per pound, with a 10-pound minimum

Drop-Off Drycleaning

$3.50 per garment

Distributor

PWS-The Laundry Company, (800) 307-1234

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