PlanetLaundry Podcast
America’s #1 Resource for Vended Laundry News & Info
PlanetLaundry is the official publication of CLA and is trusted by thousands of laundry professionals to deliver the latest news and industry-specific topics.
A Lease You Can Live With
Industry Professionals Share Tips and Strategies for Successful Lease Negotiation Securing an optimal lease is crucial for laundromat owners, impacting both financial stability and operational success. In the competitive landscape of commercial real estate, especially...
Through Your Customers’ Eyes
Taking the Mystery Out of Customer Service In a former life, I used to sell mystery shopping services. And most of the mom-and-pop entrepreneurs I approached typically had trouble understanding why they needed it. However, they heartily agreed that “large” companies...
From Demographics to Dollars
Industry Experts Decode the Art and Science of Finding the Ideal Laundromat Location “Location, location, location.” You’ve heard it hundreds of times. It’s the key to retail success. It’s your magic wand to laundromat riches. Just find that ideal location. But what...
Headlines
Alliance Distribution Expands West Region with New Acquisition
Alliance Laundry Systems has acquired the distribution assets of Bestway Laundry Solutions, headquartered in Corona, Calif. The distributorship is a leading provider of UniMac on-premises laundry equipment. “California is an area where we see excellent potential for...
How Well Do You Know Your Business?
The Keys to Making Smart, Data-Driven Decisions for Your Laundromat The laundromat business is simple, right? You find a location with excellent traffic flow, super visibility, stellar demographics – and Voila! Decades of profits and business success are yours. Well,...
Wash with Wally: Cross-Training Your Laundry Attendants
I recently hired a new attendant and have discovered that he possesses great mechanical skills. So, I was thinking of cross-training him to handle some of the more simple equipment issues that arise at my store, in addition of course to his attendant duties. Is there...
Wash-Dry-Fold POS Partners with Burq, Adds On-Demand Delivery Network
Wash-Dry-Fold POS – a provider of point-of-sale and operational management solutions for laundromats across the United States – recently partnered with on-demand delivery platform Burq, to offer laundromat owners the largest laundry delivery network in the country,...
Laundry Industry Mourns Bob Cowen
Laundry industry pioneer Robert Clifford Cowen, an ownership partner in B&C Technologies, passed away peacefully at his home on September 13 at the age of 102. Cowen began his career in 1956 as an engineer and quickly became a driving force in the commercial...
Eastern Funding Hosts Successful Workshops in California
Eastern Funding continued its Laundry Business Workshop series in Los Angeles and Orange County on September 10 and September 11. Both events drew strong groups of attendees, which included laundromat owners, prospective investors, and other laundry industry...
EVI Announces Cash Dividend
EVI Industries Inc., headquartered in Miami, has announced that its Board of Directors approved a special cash dividend of 31 cents per share on EVI’s common stock, a 10 percent increase over the amount of the special cash dividend paid by EVI last October. The...
Doing Double Duty
How to Maximize Revenue with Full-Service, After-Hours Work Savvy laundry owners often glean revenue from multiple services, even when it means processing full-service work after hours. Although growing the full-service side of your laundry business will take time, if...
A Lease You Can Live With
Industry Professionals Share Tips and Strategies for Successful Lease Negotiation Securing an optimal lease is crucial for laundromat owners, impacting both financial stability and operational success. In the competitive landscape of commercial real estate, especially...
Library of Congress Honors LaundryCares with 2024 Literacy Award
The LaundryCares Foundation recently announced that it has been awarded the David M. Rubenstein Prize as part of the 2024 Library of Congress Literacy Awards. This prestigious award honors the Foundation’s innovative efforts in promoting literacy by transforming...
Alliance Laundry Systems Acquires Utah Distributor
Alliance Laundry Systems recently expanded its direct distribution in the western portion of the United States with the acquisition of Alliance Laundry Equipment, headquartered in Salt Lake City. “Alliance Laundry Equipment has done an excellent job of representing...
Get Ahead of the Game
Start Your Holiday Marketing Campaigns Early I remember the feeling vividly: the first day of school after a long summer break. The excitement of new school supplies, seeing friends again, and the anticipation of a fresh start. But there was always that moment when I...
SPONSORED CONTENT
This Month's Issue
- Fast Forward: Industry Insiders Review the Past Year – And Unveil the Key Factors That Likely Will Shape the Laundromat Business in 2025
- Business Profile: The Community-Driven Mission Behind Wash Bar Laundromats
- Company Close-Up: Southeastern Laundry Equipment Sales Sets the Standard for Industry Excellence and Innovation
- Women in Vended Laundry: An Interview with Samantha Peters of Advanced Laundry Systems
- And More…
THE LATEST ON LAUNDROMATS
Industry News
EVI Acquires O’Dell Equipment and Supply
EVI Industries Inc. has completed the acquisition of O’Dell Equipment and Supply, LLC, a distributor of commercial laundry products serving the vended and on-premises laundry industries. O’Dell, based in Jeffersonville, Ind., is EVI’s 28th acquisition in the...
UniMac Honors Top Distributor
UniMac recently announced that Southeastern Laundry Equipment Sales has received the brand’s 2023 Distributor of the Year award. Southeastern, headquartered in Marietta, Ga., has been a leader in the on-premises laundry market since 1976, serving clients in a variety...
SBA Disaster Loan Funds Exhausted, Agency Hopes to Secure Additional Funding in November
On October 15, the U.S. Small Business Administration announced it hit its limit for the disaster loan program. Along with SBA disaster centers, the loan application portal will remain open, and the SBA is encouraging those impacted to continue applying for these...
LIG Health and Wellness Roundup
LIG Solutions, who CLA works with to provide members with healthcare options, has articles to help expand health and wellness awareness. • LIG Health And Wellness Round-Up – Fall 2024 Edition: a series of seasonal articles which you might find helpful • Produce You...
CLA Introduces Cash-Back Mastercard
CLA recently unveiled the CLA World Elite Business Mastercard, a financial solution crafted to cater exclusively to the distinctive financial needs of laundry owners. The CLA card offers up to 2.1 percent unlimited cash back on all purchases, 3 percent cash back on...
FROM YOUR FAVORITE INDUSTRY EXPERTS
Columns
The Laundry Doctor
Locked and Loaded
Are Lockers the Answer to Building a Profitable, Round-the-Clock WDF Operation? I’ve recently had a number of store owners approach me about the use of lockers for their laundry operations. At The Laundry Doctor, we’ve been utilizing lockers to help facilitate the...
The Business Mind
Know Your Customers
Here’s How to Keep Your Laundry Business Growing Steadily by Systematically Tracking Your Client Metrics “Revolve your world around your customers, and more customers will revolve around you.” – Anonymous It’s widely accepted that today’s consumers are inundated with...
Wash With Wally
Wash with Wally: Removing Tough Smoke Odors
I have a wash-dry-fold customer who is a heavy smoker. In the summer, it seems that the clothes he brings in are at their worst; even the plastic hamper he brings them in reeks of cigarette smoke. I have tried an odor-reducing fabric softener from my laundry supplier,...
Viewpoint
What’s Your Secret Sauce?
In researching and writing the July cover story on the use of ozone in laundromats, one main theme kept popping up among everyone I spoke with – differentiation. Of course, some laundromat owners have been incorporating ozone into their operations for years. And,...
Digital Marketing
Home Sweet Home
How to Make Your Laundromat Feel Like Home to Your Customers… No Matter Where Home May Be Last summer, I decided to jet off to the Mediterranean. I thought it’d be cool to pick up a little bit of every language before I went. Trust me, my Italian was more spaghetti...
Strategic Corporate Allies Program
Our Strategic Corporate Allies support CLA’s mission through advocacy, education, and innovation to strengthen the industry, advance our members’ businesses, and prepare the next generation of laundry professionals for the future.
Interested in becoming a Strategic Corporate Ally of CLA? Contact President & CEO, Brian Wallace via email at [email protected] or call (630) 491-0499.
