Some dry cleaners in NYC forced to fold amid pandemic, worsening inflation
NEW YORK -- Dry cleaning businesses are feeling the squeeze, with some forced to fold.
As CBS2's Dave Carlin reports, the rise in store closures is due to changing customer habits in the pandemic and worsening inflation.
Wrapped, freshly cleaned garments whirl around the rafters in a Hunts Point warehouse, but business wear, once a staple, is now a slender piece of the pie, with fewer dress shirts, ties, work suits and dresses.
"The landscape's changed," said Wayne Edelman, owner of Meurice Garment Care and a board member of the National Cleaners Association.
He says customers spending more time at home on Zooms keep it casual, hurting the bottom line, especially for smaller mom-and-pop shops.
"Thirty percent of the stores, if you go down the street and you take a look at, and you look at cleaners, you'll see that those locations are gone," Edelman said.
"It's easier to do it myself or buy fabrics that I could take care of myself," Brooklyn resident Claire Barker said.
"I definitely make use of my dry cleaner but not as much as I was before," Hell's Kitchen resident Darryl Nipps said. "I'm working from home a lot more, so not wearing the shirts and suits and ties that I used to wear as much as before."
Nipps' favorite dry cleaner is one on Eighth Avenue, where the owner told CBS2 she struggles with costs that have doubled and even tripled, paying more for cleaning solutions, hangers, wrapping materials, gas for delivery trucks and rent.
With costs piling up and clothing not, some stores are going out of business while others pivot and try new things.
"We closed our locations in Manhattan, but we've increased our pick-up and delivery service," Edelman said. "We started doing more and more interior cleaning."
His business found success moving from shirts to sheets. Plus, other big laundry jobs and interior cleaning to keep his operation from shrinking.
