The Dry Cleaners industry in Canada provides dry cleaning and laundry services to consumers and businesses, such as hotels and clinics. Over the past decade, consumer trends have shifted toward casual clothing, thus reducing the need for dry cleaning services that remain mainly used for formal and office wear.
Dry cleaning is considered a price-premium service, and consumers typically only dry clean formal attire that cannot be laundered at home. Some highlights of threats in the industry:
- Dry cleaners implemented price increases to maintain profitability amidst falling demand
- Shifts in the fibre types used to manufacture clothing have affected industry demand
- Growing competition from substitute at-home dry cleaning products will cut into sales
These aspects lead to the following SWOT analysis: The Dry Cleaners industry in Canada is in the declining stage of its industry life cycle. Over the 10 years to 2023, industry value added (IVA), which measures the industry’s contribution to GDP, is projected to decline an annualized 1.4%. Comparatively, GDP is projected to rise at an annualized rate of 1.9% during the same period. GDP growth that outpaces IVA growth is a key indicator that this industry is declining. Other characteristics that establish this industry’s declining life stage include falling per capita consumption, a decreasing number of industry enterprises and clearly segmented services.
Fortunately some positive Success Factors are also mentioned. The most important Factors for the Dry Cleaners Industry are:
- The industry’s ability to accommodate environmental requirements
- The Ability and readiness to quickly adopt new technologies
- The easy access to niche markets