Doing something new

How often do drycleaners and launderers actually come together? Clearly, it's the same fundamental business, but, unless you share the same roof and run a laundry and a drycleaning operation, it's usually only at exhibitions or the occasional conference that these siblings meet.

This month, however, not only are we looking forward to the industry's biggest event, the biennial Clean 03, at which the great and the good from every part of the industry and from all over the world gather. We also have a theme that unites cleaners and launderers. That theme being: changing the way we do things in response to what our market demands.

On the one hand, there's the National Drycleaning Fortnight, which is being planned for September 15 to 29. A number of individuals and organisations are coming together to organise and support this initiative, but it's probably best to think of it as a self-help campaign. Drycleaners should take it as their cue to stimulate not only their existing customer base, but those people within their sphere of influence not yet using their services.

Why not take out an advertisement in your local paper offering special discounts to everyone that brings in garments during National Drycleaning Fortnight. Have a chat to a reporter on the newsdesk about what you're doing, and you might be able to persuade him (or her) to write something about your business too. Many drycleaners used last year's fortnight to introduce loyalty cards, to stimulate interest by raising money for charity, to build up a database for future mailings.

That's something for cleaners. On the other hand, Richard Neale has identified a new breed of launderers; a breed that's making money. To be accurate, it's not a new breed so much as a reinvention of the old guard.

Dr Neale has come up with a new way of categorising textile renters: you are either in the "under class" or the "upper class". Both groups started in the same place, but the latter has moved with the times and is reaping the benefits. Simply, the upper class have taken a raft of measures and can now sleep confident they're making twice as much money as their under-class rivals. However, I've no intention of stealing Richard's thunder - turn to page 15 to read what he has to say.

Finally, just to prove LCN is moving with the times too, from the September edition you'll notice more than a few changes to these pages. For a sneak preview, turn to page seven.

Glenn Tomkins (gtomkins@wilmington.co.uk)