Professional Carwashing & Detailing - Feb 2012
Cover Story Continued from page 29 32 Professional Carwashing Detailing February 2012 Suzanne Stansbury editor and publisher of Northeast Carwasher magazine executive director of the New York State Car Wash Association the Connecticut Carwash Association and the Car Wash Operators of New Jersey said the only trend she predicts is more consolidation The economy and weather patterns have really weeded out the good and bad operators and as a result you will see more washes owned by fewer operators she said Those who have been able to survive and profit and there are many operators boasting volume increases have done so because they have changed their business model They arent waiting for the weather or economy to cooperate they are making changes to how they wash cars and what they offer their customers So what does this mean for the owners and operators It means you are going to still have to work hard to bring in new the economic crisis and a strong meaningful rebound to growth job creation and financial stability Though there are some reasons to be hopeful I dont think were out of the woods just yet There is still too much uncertainty too many problems left unresolved from the financial crisis and too few tools in the hands of policymakers to act to support growth Sure there are some bits of good news The U S economy has been creating more jobs the improved optimism can be seen in a strong holiday shopping season But lets not kid ourselves There is no avoiding the reality that the bad news clearly outweighs the good just about everywhere So what does this mean for the car care industry For starters it means moneyspending should still be well calculated and efficiency needs to be a top priority It also means that the aforementioned optimism could very well mean more customers willing to make repeat visits to be more aware of the things that can make us more money to the bottom line Between the problem of the weather patterns and economy we are not growing so we have to take care of the other items in which we have some control Economic health Here are the cold hard facts in terms of the economic health in the United States Towards the end of 2011 things were looking okay Unemployment rates were down and consumer spending was up However just because things seem okay that doesnt mean things are great and even if things are slightly improving the economy has a long way to go Michael Schuman who writes about the global economy for Time magazine said in a Jan 3 2012 column So here we are at the start of 2012 facing the same question Will this year finally really truly bring an end to Continued on page 34 Circle 235
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Professional Carwashing & Detailing - Feb 2012
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