08/11/2021
A Final Letter to our Wonderful Customers,
It’s hard to imagine that any industry was hit harder, by the impact of Covid, than the Drycleaning industry (Restaurants and Daycare would be the closest). When people began working from home instead of the office, the need for the services we offer, and the skill sets we possess, fell off a cliff. We’ve brained-stormed over the previous 14 months with some of the brightest industry minds in the country and have been unable to come up with any sustainable strategies that aren’t based on everyone returning to the office they once occupied, P-16 schools being completely face-to-face, and daycare offering their services as they did pre-Covid.
Lifestyle Garment Care will be COMPLETELY CLOSED at 1:00pm on Friday, August 27, 2021.
The last day we will accept anything for processing will be Friday August 20, 2021.
We can provide delivery of an order you haven’t yet picked up by 1:00pm Tuesday, August 24th to your house within a 15 mile radius of our store. If you miss picking up an order by Friday, August 27, 2021 we will provide a 30 day grace period. To access this grace period please call 631-7230 and leave a message. You will be contacted to make arrangements. After the grace period all items left will be donated to a local re-sale shop.
Our company began in 1929 just a few months before the great market crash in October. It survived the depression and went on to prosper through the glory years of drycleaning. One third of the industry fell victim to the introduction of Synthetic Fibers in the late 60’s and 70’s. Our family purchased the company in June, 1977. The industry recovered somewhat until the 90’s when casual wear gained the attention of the working world. In 1994 there were 1,472 licensed drycleaners in the State of Michigan. By 2016 we were down to 614 (a loss of almost 60% of an industry in just 22 years). Just prior to Covid (February 2020) the number was under 500 licensed drycleaners in the State of Michigan. Our industry will never look like it did Pre-Covid. While we attempted to find someone willing to take accept the risks of the future for our business, we have exhausted every possible lead and come up empty handed. For this we are sincerely sorry. We can no longer sustain the business at the current level of sales with no hope for relief in sight and must close.
We’re so grateful that we’ve had an opportunity to serve the drycleaning needs of this community that we so love. The industry has been good to our family and allowed us to immerse ourselves deeply in this wonderful community through involvement in non-profits, our faith, and many different organizations that continue to make a positive difference for others. We’ve raised a family in this awesome community. Through our business we’ve developed a culture that created the finest team of dedicated workers we’ve ever experienced. We continue to take, and have always taken, great pride in the work we perform each day believing that, in our own way, we each made a positive difference in the world. We’ll be forever indebted to the incredible group of people we’ve had the privilege to work with.
In closing, we’d like to thank our customers. You’re the one that sustained our quality of life and put bread on our table. We never took that lightly and always appreciated the opportunity to serve you. As we close this chapter and begin anew down a different path we wish for all of you to experience great and consistent health, sincere love (both inbound and outbound), the ever present power of hope, and Simple Joy each day of your life.
Paul and Kim White
Coaches
Lifestyle Garment Care
