competition boundary

[James2011]

Except the case of rural area, what do you think is the radius of competition? IOW, the location of the closest mat can be in 1mile,or 2mile, or 3,or 5, or 10 miles away from your mat, but we know the other mat which is 10 miles away shouldn't be a problem, and 0.5mile should be a strong competition...

Then what is the maximum distance from your mat which you consider it as "competition"?

[MrMachine]

Originally Posted by hithere

Except the case of rural area, what do you think is the radius of competition? IOW, the location of the closest mat can be in 1mile,or 2mile, or 3,or 5, or 10 miles away from your mat, but we know the other mat which is 10 miles away shouldn't be a problem, and 0.5mile should be a strong competition...

Then what is the maximum distance from your mat which you consider it as "competition"?

Depends how dense your local population is. I'm in NYC. I have a mat with a competitor right down the block. Six blocks away, there are THREE mats at the same intersection!! And I'm not counting all the apartment house Laundry Rooms in between.
I have another location that has 2 BIG Mats (75 washers/75 Dryers each) only 4 blocks away from me and 3 blocks away from each other.

If all the mats in your area are always crowded, with high prices, and run down condition, then it MAY, and I repeat MAY be an ok location you are looking at.

[DaveLevenson]

I have noticed that in the cities, most customers walk to the nearest laundromat. Competitors are significant if they are within a comfortable walk for someone carrying a load of laundry or pushing it on a cart.

My store is in a small suburban town. Most customers drive. There are significant competitors a few miles away.

Bottom line, they're competitors if they're within five or ten minutes travel time by the mode used in your neighborhood.

[dbrown2508]

I don't know if I'm that different, but I am in the suburbs of Toronto. There are apartments all around - many within walking distance, and most wih apartment mats (Built in late 70's or so). But my mat is busy, and I'd say 80% or more of the people drive (if you want to call it that - many of the vehicles are something to look at).

I get most of my customers within about 3 miles, however I pull some in from 10 miles or more - especially those ones who load up all of my 55 pound machines at once.

Certainly in my market, I think you can draw from a greater distance. Many people pass 4 or 5 mats before they get to mine.

[MrMachine]

Originally Posted by dbrown2508

I don't know if I'm that different, but I am in the suburbs of Toronto. There are apartments all around - many within walking distance, and most wih apartment mats (Built in late 70's or so). But my mat is busy, and I'd say 80% or more of the people drive (if you want to call it that - many of the vehicles are something to look at).

I get most of my customers within about 3 miles, however I pull some in from 10 miles or more - especially those ones who load up all of my 55 pound machines at once.

Certainly in my market, I think you can draw from a greater distance. Many people pass 4 or 5 mats before they get to mine.

If you have easy parking, I bet it's your big machines as one of the main factors that your mat is doing well.

[dbrown2508]

Paul:

You are probably right. There is great parking there. I'm planning on another 4 55 pound machines soon. If I can attract 1 turn a day from outside (or the equivalent of peopl using the 55s instead of the 40s) it will pay for them.

If that is the case, how far should I throw out the net?

[MrMachine]

Originally Posted by dbrown2508

Paul:

You are probably right. There is great parking there. I'm planning on another 4 55 pound machines soon. If I can attract 1 turn a day from outside (or the equivalent of peopl using the 55s instead of the 40s) it will pay for them.

If that is the case, how far should I throw out the net?

Have you considered putting in a couple of 80 pounders? They are expensive, but will make your unique, and the lbs per load vs the water usage is favorable.
Plus, if no other mats in your area have them, you will now have something great to shout about in your advertising: "Biggest Washers Around!!" or "HUGE 80lb Washers!!". That should really attract those big spending customers.

[dbrown2508]

I must admit I thought about it. There were a few reasons why I didn't go for them:

1 - price - could get 4 of the (what Wascomat now calls) 62 pounders for about $10k less than 3 77 pounders

2 - The smaller ones fit better in the space I am looking to put them in (not to mention the fact that the 77 pounder is 39 inches wide vs my 36 inch doorway).

3 - I only have 4 50 pound dryers, and was going to try to get away without putting more large dryers in.

4- There is a place about 3 miles away that has 2 of these - I think I get more turns on my 55s than he gets on his large machines.

[CanCanCase]

The OP said rural areas excepted, but I'll put in my 2 bits anyway...you get what you pay for around here!

I pull customers from over 30 miles in each direction... My stores are non-trivial competition for all the other laundromats in the county. Many of the other mat owners won't talk to me once they figure out who I am and what I just built in "their backyard."

Having said that, I've always been a believer that there is plenty of business to go around for everyone (if the market were over-saturated, I wouldn't have built.) I don't really see the other nearby stores as "competing"... In fact, if I get a customer who just doesn't want to learn EasyCard, I'll send them to the nearest coin store on their way home.

If you're going to be a "neighborhood laundromat", be sure your neighborhood is large and has few or no other laundromats. If you're going to be a "destination laundromat" the other stores will have less impact IF you go out of your way to be the better store.

-Case

[dbrown2508]

As I noted above, I am putting in 4 additional 55 pound machines (to make 8). I only have 4 50 pound dryers, and dont have the room to put in any more (i'd have to replace 3 year old TD30x30s - can't afford to do that).

I worry about lack of big dryers.

What do you think about me increasing my price on the 50 pound dryers - from 3 minutes for a quarter to 2 minutes for a quarter (my 30 pounders are 5 minutes for a quarter).

I get people right now who use a 20 pound washer using the 50 pound dryers cause they think they dry quicker. Maybe the increase in price will stop a bit of this. Thoughts?