America’s Best Cleaners (ABC) brought its affiliate community together September 16–18 in Sacramento,
CA, for its Fall 2026 Accelerator Live, hosted by Rytina Fine Cleaners and centered on the theme “Perception.”
The three-day program challenged leading garment care businesses to examine how their brands are perceived today — and, more importantly, how they must evolve to connect with the next generation of luxury consumers and employees. The Sacramento program was the culmination of several months of advance work by ABC affiliates, including a comprehensive generational brand survey and individual Brand Reality Checks designed to compare how businesses see themselves with how emerging consumers may actually experience their brands.
The work will continue throughout the year as affiliates translate the insights developed in Sacramento into actionable marketing, messaging, and brand strategies.
The event began with a behind-the-scenes visit to Rytina Fine Cleaners, hosted by Toran and Katie Brown, where affiliate work groups evaluated different areas of the attendees also visited Sacramento luxury clothier Julius to explore how an established retailer continues adapting to changes in the apparel market while preserving its luxury positioning and client experience.
The centerpiece of Accelerator Live was Katelyn Kratz of Kratz Executive Solutions, presenting “Beyond Quality: Why Connection Is the New Currency in Couture Cleaning.” Drawing from her comprehensive Generations of Clean research and the affiliate Brand Reality Checks, Kratz examined what younger consumers value, how they perceive the garment care industry, and where their expectations differ from previous generations.
“For decades, our industry has built its reputation around quality and technical expertise, and those remain essential. But the next generation of clients will not automatically value us for the same reasons their parents and grandparents did,” said Christopher White, Executive Director of America’s Best Cleaners. “We have to understand what creates trust, relevance, and connection for them, then learn
how to tell our story in a way that is authentic to who we are and meaningful to who they are. Sacramento was not the end of that conversation—it was where our affiliates began turning months of research into an actionable strategy for the
future.”
Kratz then facilitated two intensive affiliate workshops that moved the group from research to implementation. Affiliates defined authentic brand voices, developed storytelling and content themes, and created practical 1-3-5 brand messaging plans with clear priorities, ownership, and measurable next steps.
Tom Beidle, CEO of Xplor Spot, explored how every interaction throughout the customer journey contributes to the story a business tells, while Paulo Rocha of Miele Professional connected brand perception with professional wet cleaning, textile care and the technology required to deliver consistent, sustainable results.
Tim Prusener of iCatch Marketing addressed “The AI Search Revolution: What Happens When Customers Stop Googling?” and the shift from traditional search toward AI-assisted discovery and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO). As search becomes increasingly conversational, businesses need clear, credible, and consistent digital storytelling that demonstrates expertise and gives AI platforms the information and proof needed to understand, trust, and cite them. The challenge is no longer simply to “get found,” but to “be the answer.”
The program concluded with ABC’s Affiliate Hot Seat sessions, where members openly shared innovations, opportunities, and business challenges for collaborative discussion. Together, the research, workshops, partner presentations and peer collaboration reinforced a central message: Perception is not simply a marketing exercise. It is the cumulative result of what a business says, what it does, what clients experience, and what others—including AI—say about it.