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RetailRetail

Dry cleaners are facing a hanger shortage

By
Chris Morris
Chris Morris
Former Contributing Writer
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By
Chris Morris
Chris Morris
Former Contributing Writer
Down Arrow Button Icon
October 29, 2021, 1:30 PM ET

We’ve all got them. Dozens of wire hangers sitting idly in our closet from previous trips to the dry cleaner that we really don’t know what to do with. Now the dry cleaning industry is politely asking that we bring them back.

There’s a hanger shortage in some parts of the country, as people return en masse to get their shirts starched and pants pressed. And some businesses are turning to their customers for help.

Many dry cleaners didn’t survive the pandemic, as business vanished overnight and for a long period. (Most dry cleaners lost between 83% and 92% of their sales.) For the stores that did make it, the return of customers has been just as sudden. The abrupt increase in demand has put an unprecedented strain on the supply chain—and it’s something both cleaners and suppliers have never had to face before.

“I’ve been here 33 years, and I’ve…never seen it where you just can’t get the product. It’s not a price situation. You can’t get the product,” Peter Blake, executive director of the South Eastern Fabricare Association (SEFA), tells trade journal American Dry Cleaner.

It’s not just wire hangers that are in short supply. The “strut” hangers that use a cardboard tube for the bottom rung, which are typically used for pants, are also hard to find.

The hanger shortage is being exacerbated by higher shipping costs and shipping delays due to overcrowded ports. And the high demand is escalating prices. Rick Bhula, owner of several dry cleaners in Florida, told the Tampa Bay Times the price for a box of 500 hangers used to be $20 to $25. Today it’s more than twice that amount.

That’s forcing some dry cleaners to raise prices by 4% to 5%.  

More must-read retail coverage from Fortune:

  • Retailers are gearing up for a red-hot holiday season despite supply-chain hysteria
  • “No sign of relief”: The global supply-chain crisis could last well into February
  • Retailers are paying big money to find staff for the holiday season
  • Walmart recalls aromatherapy room spray after two deaths
  • Chewy CEO Sumit Singh on the pet boom, the pandemic, and moving from puppyhood to profitability

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About the Author
By Chris MorrisFormer Contributing Writer

Chris Morris is a former contributing writer at Fortune, covering everything from general business news to the video game and theme park industries.

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