Jordan Berry [00:00:01]:

Welcome to Laundromat News. Today I AM America’s top 10 favorite laundromat. Specific news anchor Jordan Berry bringing you news from around the world. All things Laundromat related. Listen, we gotta just kick it off with the big news that’s happening around the industry. Alliance, who is the manufacturer of speed queen hips, Ipso Primus, some other ones as well, went public recently. They went public, they had an IPO initial public offering and in that IPO they raised $826 million. And just in case you want to follow along, their, their ticker abbreviation is alha.

Jordan Berry [00:00:53]:

So that’s Alliance Laundry. Alh. And really interesting. It was a pretty strong IPO actually and I, I’m gonna link a very interesting kind of breakdown of it because it talks about how strong the IPO was. The share prices went up about 11.4% from the beginning and gave Alliance a market valuation capitalization of 4, $4.83 billion. So yeah, market capitalization $4.83 billion for Alliance Laundry, which is a huge win there. However, there is a little bit of, you know, concern here. The revenue has been flat over the last three years as we know.

Jordan Berry [00:01:45]:

Alliance has been buying up distributors and stuff, doing all kinds of things in our industry. But despite that revenue has been pretty flat over the last few years. It’s not super profitable as a company, according to this article. And they have relatively low free cash flow. So you know, the it, it’s easy. I’ll link it again. Make sure you’re subscribed to the newsletter over there. A lot of myresource.com you can read through this article, talks about the risk assessment there and to be cautious.

Jordan Berry [00:02:18]:

But I think the big news potentially for those astute among us is that when a company goes public, information about the company goes public. So it might be something worth digging into looking into some of what’s going on behind the scenes behind the curtain of Alliance Laundry. As you know, they’ve been kind of moving and shaking in our industry for a while. So, you know, maybe we’ll get to see some of the numbers and piece together the story of where they’re going, what they’re doing. Are they still going to be competing with us, throwing up stores next to ours? Do we have to worry about the data that we give them? The answer that’s probably yes, you know, and you know, beyond that. And now that it’s a public company, it is going to be pushing for profitability and making more profits for investors. So with that said, we got to keep an eye on. Where is that money coming from? Well, it’s going to come from our pockets.

Jordan Berry [00:03:15]:

So you know, just something to pay attention to. And I think that that huge $4.83 billion market capitalization for Alliance Laundry is going to continue to be intriguing to people in our space, which might bring more manufacturing companies into our market. So could be a win for us. I don’t know. Too soon to tell. I’d love to know what you think. So if you are watching this on YouTube, drop a comment down below and let me know what you think about Alliance’s ipo. And if you’re listening on the podcast, shoot me an email jordan@laundry resource.com I’d love to hear what you think.

Jordan Berry [00:03:54]:

And while I’m talking about if you’ve got a news story, whether you’re a company in the industry or you’re just a laundromat owner who’s got some cool things going on in your laundromat, shoot me over your news [email protected] would love to feature you here. Okay, let’s keep it rolling. Now that we have talked about that, we got to talk about a brown water issue that’s happening in Jackson, Mississippi right now. The water literally is turning brown. Supposedly it’s still safe, even safe to drink. And it’s a natural phenomenon, but it’s causing problems obviously for the community and laundromats specifically where the, the water is staining clothes. And so just, you know, if you didn’t have enough things to worry about as a laundromat owner, you also got to keep an eye out for brown water and Jackson. Jackson Water, I think it’s jxn, I’m assuming that stands for Jackson, but Jackson Water also said that they’re not going to be issuing any refunds or discounts or credits or anything to customers and that because it’s a natural occurrence, they’re going to manage it to the best of their ability.

Jordan Berry [00:05:10]:

But it’s not their fault. So they’re not paying for so you know, something to kind of keep an eye on over there as you, you know, run your laundromat business. Also wanted to highlight something going on in the uk. We don’t make it over to the UK nearly often enough in the news, but they have got some kiosk laundromats that are going up in Tesco’s in the parking lots, real small, two parking spaces where they’ve got some self serve laundry kiosks going in there. And you know, it’s really interesting here in the States. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you know, the kiosk model or like the vending machine type model of laundry. But when I was in Europe I saw it here and there where at like a train station or something. They just have like a basically like a vending machine of a couple washers, a couple dryers that you could wash your clothes while you’re waiting for the train and then you know, like I said in these Tesco parking lot.

Jordan Berry [00:06:08]:

So interesting stuff. I don’t know if that business model will ever make it across the pond, but really interesting stuff. And they seem to be expanding that model out there in the uk. So kudos to you guys out there and if you got any feedback on that, I would love to hear about that. All right. We’ve got some cool stuff going on in our industry. People are doing cool things once again in their laundromats in Corvallis. There’s a non profit partnering with the laundromat there to provide laundry access to the homeless and low income people, which is really cool.

Jordan Berry [00:06:46]:

So kudos to you guys. Stephanie Jackson founded Loads of Dignity and at Washboard Laundromat there. So very cool in Corvallis. Way to go. There’s a retired New York I believe. Let me see, is this right? Frederick, Retired Frederick Police department who was a K9 handler, retired in January and now spends his time doing laundry for those in need in a mobile laundry setup that cruises around in a big bus that’s got washers and dryers and folding and cabinets and everything in there. And he drives around, he does laundry for those in need. So again, very cool things that we’re doing in our industry.

Jordan Berry [00:07:38]:

I’m saying we like I’m taking credit like you guys are doing in this industry. So much cool stuff. So you know, if you’re out there and you’re just running your, your everyday laundromat, that’s awesome too. That’s also serving the community. Just continue to keep an eye out for cool things that you could be doing in your industry and keeping that good vibes rolling. Laundry Cares foundation and Laundry Labs in Mesa partner with or I guess sponsored by the US Ventures, US Auto Force Free Literacy and Laundry day in a laundry lab Laundromat in Mesa, Arizona. So very cool there. More just doing good for our communities through our laundromats.

Jordan Berry [00:08:22]:

And listen, we, we’ve got to get a little bit spooky here and I apologize if you’re easily frightened but this laundromat is hosting a pumpkin decorating contest for Halloween. So cool, so fun. I. I love this. I think it’s a great way to just engage the community. This is Harbor’s Choice Laundry and it’s our first ever one. So if you’re out in that area, go, go support those guys out there. Pretty cool to do a pumpkin decorating contest and carving contest there.

Jordan Berry [00:09:01]:

Super fun. Look for fun ways to engage your community. It only, it only makes people feel better about your business. So just a little bit of, a little bit of fun, a little bit of effort, and it goes a long way. And finally, not finally, nearly finally, I’m gonna wrap it up in San Francisco, where there was a laundromat that was built in the 70s and it kept going until about 2017. San Francisco, if you don’t know, in certain areas of the city, you actually get taxed if your building is vacant. So if you’re in the San Francisco Bay area and you’re looking for a laundromat, I actually have a couple of clients who have targeted these landlords who are getting heavily taxed for owning a building that’s vacant in, in San Francisco proper. And those can be really great opportunities to go in and get a space, rent out a space for a good price, especially in the city, and either revitalize the laundromat that used to be there or.

Jordan Berry [00:10:07]:

And, or bring in a brand new laundromat in a new space and build it out there. So very cool. But unfortunately, this laundromat went out of business in 2017. The woman who owned it owns the building and is getting taxed. So they’re actually opening up an art space with a dance stage and some other stuff, classrooms and, and things like that for the community, which, you know, is a kind of a cool repurposing of the business. But she says she is planning on selling the business or the. The property. Excuse me? She’s planning on selling the property.

Jordan Berry [00:10:44]:

However, the reason that she’s doing this art space in what she’s calling Lee’s Launderette, which is what the laundromat used to be called. It’s a community hub and cultural center now, or will be soon. The reason she’s doing that is to avoid that tax. So all that to say, you’re in San Francisco, this could be an opportunity for you. Used to be a laundromat might be grandfathered in, might have some infrastructure in place already, could be a good opportunity. I just wanted to highlight that because there Are opportunities like that all over the place. And if you can kind of keep your eyes open, think a little creative, creatively you can find opportunities that other people don’t find. So I thought that was a really interesting one up there in San Francisco.

Jordan Berry [00:11:30]:

But no matter where you’re at, keep that creative brain on and look for opportunities where other people might be overlooking them. Okay, last thing I have for you is this. We’ve got less than a month until Laundromat accelerator Hawaii. Super excited about it. Make sure you at least go check it out. Laundromatresource.com Hawaii it is gonna be mind blowing. It’s gonna be great. I’m super excited about it.

Jordan Berry [00:12:00]:

We still have a couple spots left, so if you’re interested in that, check out laundromatresource.com Hawaii Shoot me an email if you have questions. Jordanandemresource.com and listen, come geek out with me and a bunch of other Laundromat geeks on the beach of Waikiki. Getting serious during some parts of it, but also, you know, chilling out. It’s Hawaii a little bit too. So we’ve got some really cool activities planned. Again, you can go learn more about [email protected] Hawaii. And might I just mention, this is a tax write offable event, so go check it out. And again, if you’ve got questions.

Jordan Berry [00:12:37]:

Jordanandemanresource.com if you are like, hey, I want to go spend, you know, four days with a bunch of laundry geeks helping me up, level my business, this is the place for you. We’re going to be working on your business specifically and you will walk away with ways, tangible, practical ways to improve your business, guaranteed. And you’re going to do it in Hawaii with me. All right. All right. That is it for Laundryman news today. Oh, I also wanted to say congratulations to Wally Cope for a super successful laundry CEO forum. Nothing but great things to say about that event.

Jordan Berry [00:13:16]:

Nothing but great things to say about Waleed. So Waleed, genuinely from the industry. Thank you so much for investing in that event. I know it’s a lot of money, it’s a lot of time, it’s a lot of effort and it’s not easy to put on an event, big or small. And he’s doing it big and he’s doing it right. So kudos to him for doing that. We need more of that in this industry and we need as an industry to support people who are putting these kinds of events on because it’s only going to help us get better, make more money, serve our communities better, and have a better time doing it because we’re all together, hanging out, talking laundry and laundromats together. So kudos to you, Waleed.

Jordan Berry [00:13:56]:

Appreciate you, brother. And for the rest of you guys, we will see you next week in the news episode and I’ll have a joke for you, and it will knock your socks off. At least the sock that got lost in the dryer. Okay. Never. I tried to improv one and it just worked about as well as when I plan it ahead of time. So we’ll see you next week. This is Jordan for Laundromat News Today.

Jordan Berry [00:14:19]:

We’ll see you next week. Bye.