SAN FRANCISCO — October 12, 2018 —  Mulberrys Garment Care today announced the acquisition of Laundry Locker, the popular San Francisco laundry and dry cleaning company with 350 locker locations throughout the Bay Area.

The acquisition will make Mulberrys the largest garment care provider in northern California and further the company’s stated mission of becoming the first truly national garment care brand.

“Laundry Locker is a beloved company that has served San Francisco well since 2005. Incorporating their 350 lockers into Mulberrys’ existing on-demand and storefront service will provide even more Bay Area customers with convenient, affordable and sustainable garment care options,” said Dan Miller, founder/CEO of Mulberrys Garment Care.

Laundry Lockers’ 350 lockers are located in residential and commercial buildings throughout San Francisco and Oakland and allow customers to quickly and conveniently drop-off and pick-up their clothing 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The existing Laundry Lockers will be rebranded as Mulberrys. Laundry Lockers’ forty employees will remain in their positions and become Mulberrys employees, effective immediately.

“Mulberrys is truly committed to reimagining the laundry experience in an eco-friendly way. We are confident they will carry on the legacy of Laundry Locker and continue to serve Bay Area customers for many years,” said Laundry Locker founder Arik Levy.

Named “Best Dry Cleaner” by San Francisco Magazine in 2018, Mulberrys has received accolades for its sustainable, toxin-free laundering practices, bright storefronts, and mobile on-demand app. Mulberrys currently operates ten locations in San Francisco and Silicon Valley and also serves Dallas and Minneapolis. Mulberrys hires only W-2 employees, not 1099 contractors, and provides full benefits for all its employees.

“By combining an exceptional customer experience with eco-friendly cleaning techniques, and fostering a positive environment for our employees, Mulberrys has seen great success in California, Texas, and Minnesota. With the Laundry Locker acquisition, our service will improve in the Bay Area and position us for further growth across the country,” said Miller.

Posted October 14, 2018

Source: Mulberrys Garment Care

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — October 12, 2018 — Xanitos Inc., provider of hospital housekeeping (EVS), patient transport, and central laundry services to hospitals nationwide, has earned the Hygienically Clean Healthcare certification for its Chattanooga, Tenn. laundry, reflecting its commitment to best management practices (BMPs) in laundering as verified by on-site inspection and its capability to produce hygienically clean textiles as quantified by ongoing microbial testing

The Hygienically Clean Healthcare certification confirms the organization’s continuing dedication to infection prevention, compliance with recognized industry standards and processing healthcare textiles using BMPs as described in its quality assurance documentation, a focal point for Hygienically Clean inspectors’ evaluation. The independent, third-party inspection must also confirm essential evidence that:

• Employees are properly trained and protected;
• Managers understand regulatory requirements;
• OSHA-compliant; and
• Physical plant operates effectively.

To achieve certification initially, laundries pass three rounds of outcome-based microbial testing, indicating that their processes are producing Hygienically Clean Healthcare textiles and diminished presence of yeast, mold and harmful bacteria. They also must pass a facility inspection. To maintain their certification, they must pass quarterly testing to ensure that as laundry conditions change, such as water quality, textile fabric composition and wash chemistry, laundered product quality is consistently maintained. Re-inspection occurs every two to three years.

This process eliminates subjectivity by focusing on outcomes and results that verify textiles cleaned in these facilities meet appropriate hygienically clean standards and BMPs for hospitals, surgery centers, medical offices, nursing homes and other medical facilities.

Hygienically Clean Healthcare certification acknowledges laundries’ effectiveness in protecting healthcare operations by verifying quality control procedures in linen, uniform and facility services operations related to the handling of textiles containing blood and other potentially infectious materials.

Certified laundries use processes, chemicals and BMPs acknowledged by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation, American National Standards Institute and others. Introduced in 2012, Hygienically Clean Healthcare brought to North America the international cleanliness standards for healthcare linens and garments used worldwide by the Certification Association for Professional Textile Services and the European Committee for Standardization.

Objective experts in epidemiology, infection control, nursing and other healthcare professions work with Hygienically Clean launderers to ensure the certification continues to enforce the highest standards for producing clean healthcare textiles.

“Congratulations to the Xanitos laundry in Chattanooga on their certification,” said Joseph Ricci, TRSA president and CEO. “This achievement proves their commitment to infection prevention and that their laundry takes every step possible to prevent human illness.”

Posted October 12, 2018

Source: TRSA

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — October 12, 2018 — Dr. Pamela Ing Stemmer, senior psychometrician, PSI Services LLC, Glendale, Calif., recently reported the findings of a job-analysis report for production managers conducted on behalf of TRSA and its members. Stemmer reported her findings during the first day of the recent Production Summit & Plant Tours in Philadelphia.

The job analysis consisted of the following steps:

1. Job Analysis Committee Meeting – a gathering of subject-matter experts to discuss and develop a description of the scope of the role
2. Job Analysis Survey – a large-scale survey of practitioners not involved with the subject-matter expert panel that is used to validate the task and knowledge statements developed by the panel
3. Development of Examination Specifications – the development of examination specifications by the panel based on the results of the job-analysis survey

This process helped define the role of production managers, including the tasks, skills and knowledge requirements required for the job. The findings of the report could help TRSA develop requirements for a certification exam for linen, uniform and facility services production managers.

The Advisory Committee included:

• Ken Altenbach, plant manager, Dempsey Uniform & Linen Supply
• Greg Barton, general manager, Alsco Inc.
• Dustin Brandon, production manager, AmeriPride Services Inc.
• Bob Call, general manager, Alsco Inc.
• Cheryl DePodesta, general manager, HandCraft Services
• Brandon Divers, operations manager, Alsco Inc.
• David Hardy, general manager, AmeriPride Services Inc.
• Chad Laframboise, general manager, Northern Uniform
• Susan McMahon, plant manager, HLS Linen Services
• Jon Petersen, production manager, AmeriPride Services Inc.
• Ryan Potter, general manager, Admiral Linen & Uniform Services
• Eddie Ryser, production manager, AmeriPride Services Inc.
• Stu Thomas, plant manager, Balfurd Linen Service
• Jim Wenzelman, general manager, Morgan Services

Joseph Ricci, president & CEO, TRSA; Bill Mann, director of industry affairs, TRSA; and Eric D. Lloyd, research associate, PSI, oversaw the report and its findings.

Posted October 12, 2018

Source: TRSA

BEIJING — October 11, 2018 — Chinese outbound M&A deal activity represented more than 40 percent of deals in Asia-Pacific from 2015-2017, but saw this share drop dramatically in the first half of 2018. Despite this dip, the latest stage of M&A is helping Chinese companies gain market share in utilities, construction and Internet-based businesses in countries such as Brazil.

The number of Chinese outbound deals for 100 percent ownership from 2016 to 2017 more than doubled vs. 2013 to 2015, and the number of deals for 50 percent to 100 percent ownership jumped more than threefold.

According to Bain & Company’s second China outbound M&A report, More Rigor Means Better Results in China’s Global Pursuit, a host of factors contributed to the decline in deal activity. Currency depreciation took a toll, as did fears of the effects of the US–China trade wars on both domestic company profits and US opportunities.  Deals were hurt by restrictions on investments in the US, Germany, Australia and other markets, as well as by the Chinese government, who are more carefully and closely monitoring outbound investments.

Yet, the research suggests there are still ample opportunities for more overseas acquisitions. In 2017, China spent only 0.6 percent of its GDP on outbound M&A – as a percentage of GDP, China usually spends half of what Japan usually spends on outbound M&A.

Another significant evolution: The number of private enterprises acquiring overseas is growing much faster than acquisitions made by state-owned enterprises. As a result, Bain & Company anticipates an increase in deals aimed at capturing new capabilities required to grow businesses at home and for accessing global markets.

“Chinese companies looking to acquire beyond China’s borders focus on achieving dual goals:  winning at home and exporting abroad, which enables them to strengthen their domestic competitive stance while simultaneously positioning for global expansion, especially in other developing markets,” said Phil Leung, who leads Bain & Company’s Asia-Pacific Mergers & Acquisitions practice. “This latest stage of M&A is helping Chinese companies gain market share in utilities, construction and Internet-based businesses in countries such as Brazil, India and Indonesia, though Europe and North America remain the largest capital destinations.”

The shift to using acquisitions to win both at home and overseas brings with it new and more complicated rules for success.  Based on its work with leading Chinese acquirers, Bain & Company has identified a winning formula to help companies avoid costly mistakes and apply more rigor to their acquisitions:

1. Aim for frequent and material M&A. One fundamental has not changed. M&A creates the most value for any company anywhere in the world when it is frequent and material over time. This was a finding from Bain’s original extensive research on M&A and it has been reconfirmed across industries and geographies in numerous follow-up studies. Chinese acquirers are getting the message. Bain & Company analyzed the performance of more than 700 Chinese companies that made acquisitions from 2013 to 2017. The overall average total shareholder return (TSR), defined as stock price changes assuming reinvestment was 11.6 percent.  Companies with more frequent and large deals—those we refer to as “mountain climbers”—did much better, however, with an average TSR of 18.6 percent.
2. Develop a repeatable model for outbound M&A with disciplined capabilities. Shandong Ruyi sets a standard for repeatable outbound M&A, as the company started life as a regional woolen mill, textile and apparel manufacturer. Since 2010, and with the help of a dedicated team, Ruyi acquired more than 10 companies, focusing on integration along the textile and apparel value chain. A hallmark of its repeatable approach is to keep an acquired company’s operating model largely unchanged and to retain key employees. The formula works well: The strategy of engaging in frequent acquisitions has helped the company double its stock price over the past five years.
3. Evolve M&A capabilities to deal with a complex environment when entering global markets. Leaders are becoming more adept at evolving their capabilities for the more complex requirements of different types of deals. Generally speaking, there are four variations of outbound deals: those aimed at acquiring natural resources; those intended to import technology and brands; those that will give an acquirer access to developing markets; and those that will help it explore developed markets. The capabilities required for each are vastly different, and companies need to evolve their capabilities to address those varying needs.

“China’s outbound boom will only continue as companies look to capture new capabilities that strengthen their domestic position, while also growing overseas for a leadership position in industries in which they can gain a competitive edge,” said Hao Zhou, partner with Bain & Company and head of Greater China M&A.  “But as they build their repeatable models, they will also need to keep one eye on the future. In China, as elsewhere, winning outbound acquirers will be those that make the necessary adjustments to evolve their M&A strategy along with a global market that never stops changing.”

Posted October 11, 2018

Source: Bain & Co.