VIETNAM
A report in the Việt Nam News, posted on 6 September, revealed that Việt Nam is a huge potential market for the launderette business thanks to its fast-growing economy and large population. The Vietnam Ministry of Industry and Trade in May 2022 had released statistics showing the size of the country’s commercial laundry market was estimated at US$205 million a year with a growth rate of 6%, significantly higher than the Asian average of 3.6%.
It also showed that there were about 15,316 laundry shops in the country with more than 60% of them launched within the period of 2020-22, of which, more than 96%were small-scale and household businesses. New consumption habits, improved living standards of the Vietnamese middle class and a younger generation in urban cities have led to more adoption of new consumer trends, said the report.
These developments have attracted many investors who are laundry equipment providers or laundry shop developers. Recently, Alliance Laundry Systems (ALS), a global leader in commercial laundry equipment, announced that it was looking for new business partners by welcoming all local entrepreneurs who share a vision for revolutionising the commercial self-service laundry sector in Vietnam.
The company is making a strategic move to penetrate and expand its presence in Vietnam under its five well-known brands, namely Speed Queen, UniMac, Huebsch, Primus, and IPSO.
According to the company, as has been proven in other ASEAN markets where it has had strong foothold, the self-service laundromat is a business model that is more favoured by entrepreneurs thanks to the fact that it can be operated without the need for 24/7 staff, with faster wash and dry cycles, usually within one hour, unlike traditional laundries. This results in a significant reduction in labour cost and higher return on investment for this new generation of stores.
“The feedback on our laundry equipment and solutions we’ve received in Việt Nam through our local partner has been positive. Vietnam and Thailand markets share great similarities in consumer culture and behaviours and we’re positive that, with our experience in Thailand and other Asian markets, we could facilitate the rapid growth of this relatively new business sector here,” said Sukree Kirai, senior regional sales manager, Alliance Laundry Systems.
In August this year, Masan Group opened a chain of four laundromat shops called Joins Pro in the Bình Thạnh and Gò Vấp districts of HCM City, see photograph (from the internet). Another company, GV Laundry, in May opened a laundry chain in the northern region with many services.
In addition to big investors, many small businesses also open laundry shops due to their affordable investment and high demand in the country.
