Top 4 Challenges in The Commercial Laundry Industry

The linen and laundry service industries are used by almost every type of business to ensure that their linens are clean, pleasing to the eye, and sanitary.  Restaurants, medical facilities, hotels, spas, salons and more rely on commercial laundry service companies to provide them with the linens and uniforms necessary to run their business smoothly.  Given the importance and high demand of this service couldn’t anyone go out and start this type of company?  To put it blatantly, NO WAY!  There are many challenges in owning a laundry service which include:

1. Low Cost Labor Dependence – The profit margins in the linen service industry are small, and not getting any wider.  As a result companies must keep labor costs low, which is becoming increasingly difficult as employees attempt to unionize, new immigration bills fine companies that employ undocumented workers (which account for a numerous portion of workers), and there is continuing pressure to pay workers in line with other industries.

2. EPA Scrutiny – Industrial launderers are responsible for handling and disposing of many dangerous toxins and unsanitary materials, so as you can imagine the EPA is constantly monitoring them.  This creates a stressful situation, as managers have to stick to the highest standards possible set by the EPA while keeping costs low.  Costs associated with updating procedures to be compliant can easily stack up.

3. High Competition – By owning your own laundry service facility you enter into a world of intense competition on three fronts. You face competition from other laundry service companies, from the disposables industry and from on premises laundries.

4. Increase in Energy Costs – In this industry there are a few things that you must have in order to function properly such as trucks, dryers, and washing machines to name a few.  The issue with all of these things is that they require electricity or gas and lots of it. So, if gas or electricity prices increase then so do your overall expenses, further squeezing your bottom line.

All of these negatives may make it seem like the laundry service industry is not great to get into, but if you are willing to put in the hard work then it can be very rewarding and profitable.  It is not for someone who wants to be able to sit back and let the business run itself, you have to roll up your sleeves and get dirty, especially in the first few years.  In the end however, as long as you prepare for and navigate around the risks you can be very successful in this industry.

If your commercial laundry business is ready to take their online marketing to the  next level contact us at 888-770-2489 or visit https://www.linenfinder.com/marketing-programs/