Alright, today we're back with another "boring" sweaty business but to be honest I'm still on the fence with this one.
Laundromats.
In this week's One Thing, we'll break down the business of laundromats and see whether it's a good business to be in π
First why laundromats?
- Straightforward - Customers come in and do the majority of the work themselves
- Little labour - Unlike car washes, you don't have to worry about the labour shortage, training and onboarding. Labour is relatively minimal
- Recession-proof - People will always need to clean clothes
- Good margins - The laundry industry has a relatively high gross margin and netting of around 20-35%
But I dug through some posts on FB and apparently, a lot of people think that the self-service laundry industry is dying. Their reason:
- Low barrier of entry - There are lots of laundromats out there, the market is already saturated
- Costs - A large portion of the overhead cost is the rental. It's getting really difficult to find a good location with affordable rates. And rental is what makes or breaks your business
- The best time for coin-operated laundromats was 5 years ago. People nowadays just don't want to sit there and wait for an hour for their laundry
But I still think there are opportunities in this space π¨
- Subscription - Pay a monthly subscription to have your laundry picked up, washed, ironed, folded and sent right back to you
- Introduce drop off & collect services - This will better suit the working adult's lifestyle
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