US company to introduce Laundromat culture to Vietnam

The opening ceremony of Alliance Laundry System's first office in Vietnam and Southeast Asia (Source: baotintuc.vn)

Opening the first office in Vietnam is the first milestone of Alliance’s expansion in Southeast Asia. As a fast-growing economy with more than 90 million consumers, the Vietnamese middle class has grown and the younger generation has become more adaptive to new trends. As a result, Alliance considers Vietnam as a growing market for its equipment and services.

A new concept of attended Laundromats with staff members available to provide additional services, such as wash-dry-fold and delicate garment care, will be launched in July 2017. These new laundry stores will be equipped with cutting-edge technology capable of handling all types of materials, even the most delicate ones. Professional ironing will complete the high-quality service.

This new generation of stores will help people save time by not doing the laundry at home, while enjoying a premium customer experience. Alliance plans to open seven outlets in Ho Chi Minh City this year, expanding its reach to Ha Noi, Da Nang, and Can Tho in 2018. The group is determined to take the lead in commercial laundry by opening and operating 250 laundry stores nationwide by 2020.

According to Jeff Hopkins, director of Asia Pacific of Alliance Laundry Systems, countries like Singapore which had no Laundromats five years ago, are now approaching a situation where there is a Laundromat in every neighbourhood. Countries like Malaysia, that had no Laundromats four years ago, now have over 2,000 outlets. Alliance has secured the largest market share in both countries.

He is upbeat about the outlook of the Vietnamese market which has nearly three times as many people as Malaysia and 23 times as many as Singapore. Thus, Alliance chooses Vietnam to set up its first office in Southeast Asia in contrast to entering partnerships with distributors in Singapore and Malaysia.

The investment capital to open a laundromat ranges from $20,000 to $50,000. More specifically, it’s the investment capital for a laundromat equipped with six units of washers and dryers.

The commercial laundry for hospitals and hotels is estimated at $15 million, while the market for laundry equipment is around $30 million. Alliance will pilot the Speed Queen Laundromat first. If this model gains success, the group will open a flagship store for commercial laundry equipment under the same brand as well as expanding services for hospitals and hotels with the UniMac and Primus brands.

Established in 1908 with its headquarters in the US, Alliance Laundry Systems is known as the world-leader in commercial laundry equipment and services under five well-known brands, including Speed Queen, UniMac, Huebsch, IPSO, and Primus.

The company has three manufacturing plants in China, the Czech Republic, and the US with 2,900 employees working on more than 129,600 square metres of facility space. Alliance’s equipment has been trusted and used widely by consumers in four major segments: vended laundries, on-premises commercial laundries, multi-housing laundry rooms, and home laundry.