Dry Cleaning & Laundry Services
Industry Profile Report
Dive Deep into the industry with a 25+ page industry report (pdf format) including the following chapters
Industry Overview Current Conditions, Industry Structure, How Firms Operate, Industry Trends, Credit Underwriting & Risks, and Industry Forecast.
Call Preparation Call Prep Questions, Industry Terms, and Weblinks.
Financial Insights Working Capital, Capital Financing, Business Valuation, and Financial Benchmarks.
Industry Profile Excerpts
Industry Overview
The 14,700 dry cleaners in the US provide services to clean and maintain clothing and home furnishings, such as drapes and bedspreads. Services are provided to both individual consumers and commercial accounts and include cleaning, alterations, and repairs. Most firms are independently owned, but may operate as franchisees of national chains.
Changing Regulations
Industry regulation of Perc (perchloroethylene) is continuing to become more stringent.
Green Cleaners as Market Opportunity
Some dry cleaners are using growing opposition to Perc as an opportunity to operate in a more environmentally-friendly way, and advertise their “green” status.
Industry size & Structure
An average dry cleaner has fewer than 10 employees and generates $440,000 in annual revenue.
- The US has about 14,700 firms with about $7.8 billion in annual revenue.
- The average establishment has over $100,000 worth of equipment, and spends around $7,000 a year on advertising.
- Dry cleaning establishments may be independently owned or operate as a franchise of a national chain.
- Segments include cleaning services for individuals and businesses, reselling, and alterations.
- Large companies include DryClean USA, Tide Cleaners, Comet Cleaners, and Martinizing Dry Cleaners.
Industry Forecast
Dry Cleaning & Laundry Services Industry Growth
Recent Developments
Jan 15, 2025 - More Companies Require Return to Office
- Dry cleaners could benefit from a continued push by companies to bring their employees back into the office full time, according to a report in Entrepreneur. The most recent company implementing a strict return-to-office (RTO) policy is the US's largest bank JPMorgan, which will require its over 300,000 global employees to work in the office five days a week from a three day a week hybrid schedule, as reported by Bloomberg. The move follows other large firms making RTO mandatory, such as Amazon and AT&T. Demand for dry cleaning services may increase as more workers return to their offices, and more professional clothes are needed.
- Dry cleaning and laundry services operators will have to monitor minimum wage changes in 2025, as 21 states and 50 local jurisdictions increased their minimum wages, according to Chain Store Age. States with the highest minimum wage in the US are Washington ($16.66 per hour), California ($16.50), and New York ($16.50). Nearly 30 cities in California and seven towns in Washington will raise minimum wages in 2025, with Tukwila, Washington, offering the highest minimum hourly wage in the US at $21.10. According to the Economic Policy Institute, the minimum wage change will affect more than $9 million workers and raise pay by a combined $5.7 billion. Unchanged since 2009, the federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, and some 20 states, primarily located in the South and the Midwest, use the federal minimum as their wage floor.
- Dry cleaners will have up to 10 years to comply with an announced Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ban on the use of perchloroethylene, also known as PCE or perc, along with trichloroethylene (TCE), according to a report by American Dry Cleaner. Many US dry cleaning plants use Perc and TCE in dry cleaning operations. The EPA said perc and TCE have been identified as health hazards, with both linked to certain cancers. Dry cleaners with older, third-generation dry cleaning machines will have three years to change alternative solvents while cleaners with newer fourth-and-fifth generation equipment will have 10 years to transition. Dry cleaners have a longer timeline to comply than many other industries to come into compliance, per the report. The EPA first announced its intention to ban the two solvents in June 2023, followed by a period of public hearings. The report noted that states may accelerate the sunsetting process.
- Consumer confidence levels declined in December 2024, falling by 8.1 points from the previous month, according to The Conference Board. The Consumer Confidence Index was 104.7 in December 2024 from 112.8 in November 2024. Dana Peterson, chief economist at The Conference Board, noted that those remaining most confident on a six-month moving average basis confidence were those aged under 35 and those in the income category of over $100,000. Per Peterson, “The recent rebound in consumer confidence was not sustained in December as the Index dropped back to the middle of the range that has prevailed over the past two years.” Purchasing plans for homes decreased while plans to buy new cars and big-ticket items rose in December 2024 on a six-month average basis.
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