AMCX - AMERICLEAN, INC. Message Board

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Microcap & Penny Stocks : AMCX - AMERICLEAN, INC.

AMCX 8.740

-2.0%

Nov 26 3:59 PM EST

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To: Ron Struthers who wrote (159)	5/20/1999 11:15:00 AM
From: Carl R.	Read Replies (1) of 223

The dry cleaning industry has thus far been resistant to the trend towards consolidation that has been so common in other sectors. In my opinion this is because it is really a craft with more in common to bricklaying than to retailing. There have been a number of people who tried to consolidate the industry, with the most notable being the Johnson Group from England. Thus far such attempts have been largely unsuccessful. Even franchises haven't done all that well, with Martinizing falling from 7500 franchisees at its peak to more like 1-2000 now. It is kind or odd that all these companies are trying to get into Drycleaning just as the business peaks in its cyclical recovery from the 60's. My personal projection is that over the next several years the industry will resume its long term trend of flat to declining sales as big companies continue to take bites out of the market. For example Proctor and Gamble took a bite out years ago with Woolite, and they have just announced a world-wide rollout of DRYEL with the slogan "Now Dryclean only isn't". I have also seen that suit manufacturers are experimenting with Teflon interwoven into wool suits so that they are stain proof and rarely will require cleaning. Another development is a new interfacing for permanent press seams that prevents the unsightly puckering of seams that made permanent press eventually fail in the 60's. To me the entry of publicly traded companies into a craft industry is just another indication that the stock market is in a bubble. In the 20's all sorts of stuff started to get publicly traded at the very end including funeral homes. I guess that time will tell if Staples will be more successful than Johnson Group, or Americlean will be more successful than Thompson-Hayward. My guess is that Americlean has a better chance of success between the two, but time will tell. Do you know if Staples set up Zoots in a separate company? How are they dealing with the risks of ground contamination? This is a major problem facing the industry, and it makes it very difficult to sell cleaning establishments these days. Carl

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