Alliance Laundry Systems Accelerates ASEAN Growth with Ambitious 300-Store Expansion

on Mar, 27 2025

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Alliance Laundry Systems Accelerates ASEAN Growth with Ambitious 300-Store Expansion — Alliance Laundry Systems Promotes 'Seed Store' Model Aiming to Expand to 300 Branches Across ASEAN./Image supplied.

Alliance Laundry Systems has revealed that the laundromat business outlook for 2025 is expected to grow, driven by a positive recovery in tourism. The company announced a strategy to operate using the “Seed Store” model targeting Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Cambodia (VIP+), which are four high-potential countries in Southeast Asia that are expanding the laundromat industry with industrial machines.

The company plans to open 300 new branches with the goal of capturing approximately 70 per cent of the market share while upgrading the StarLab lab in Chonburi to be a hub for research and innovation in laundry product development in Asia to support regional market growth.

Eddie Tay, Senior Director of the Asia-Pacific region at Alliance Laundry Systems LLC, the world's largest manufacturer of Commercial Laundry Machines, stated that the international laundromat market is expected to grow in 2025 due to the recovery of tourism and continuous growth in markets such as America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific (APAC) in 2024.

However, political volatility in Thailand, the elections in Indonesia and South Korea, and the weakening of the Yen in Japan, has affected sales, resulting in first-half sales being lower than expected; although a recovery is anticipated in the second half of the year. Overall, sales for the company are expected to slightly decrease compared to the previous year, but international markets continue to grow through store expansion, new openings, and replacing old machines with new ones.

“This year, the company is prepared with the Seed Store plan to enter the ASEAN market, initially focusing on the VIP+ countries: Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Cambodia, aiming for 300 new stores and a market share of about 70 per cent," said Tay. “This presents a significant challenge, particularly in the Vietnamese and Philippine markets, which are considered new, where investors are more accustomed to using smaller or commercial machines rather than industrial ones.”

He added:

With ALS’s capabilities, including a skilled workforce, a variety of products, and international standard factories, we have invested 150 million Thai Baht to expand the StarLab lab in Chonburi, intending to elevate it as a hub for innovation research and product development for Asia, expected to be completed around April this year. This marks an important step in developing products and presenting more advanced solutions to the market, aiming for a 10 per cent sales growth in the APAC market this year.

Sukri Kirai, Sales Director for Southeast Asia at Alliance Laundry Systems LLC, stated that the Thai market remains the most attractive for investment among Southeast Asian countries because Thai consumers are open to and understand the laundromat business model. The company continues to promote market expansion into provinces, particularly through the “One District One Laundromat” project, which has seen success over the past two years, opening laundromats in almost every district beyond city areas.

Marketing budgets have been increased to focus on user groups or target customers to build a customer base, understanding the benefits of laundromats compared to washing at home, including cleanliness, cost savings, and time efficiency. Currently, there are approximately 3,708 laundromats in Thailand using ALS machines, and it is anticipated that this number will reach up to 4,400 by 2025, a growth of about 19 per cent from 2024.

“We are entering an era where laundromats will become the norm in daily life, as consumer behavior is rapidly changing," said Kirai.

He added:

People are increasingly looking for laundromats rather than washing at home, as industrial machines provide better quality washing, save time, and reduce long-term costs. In the next five years, the laundromat market in Southeast Asia is expected to grow significantly due to two main factors: first, the VIP+ countries, with a combined population of approximately 489 million people, will become the largest market in the region. Second, the markets in Singapore and Malaysia will transition to purchasing replacement machines.

Benjamin Leo Dobbs, Managing Director for the Asia-Pacific region at Alliance Laundry Systems LLC, also shared, “Following 117 years of success, we held the 'ALS Distributor Awards 2024 – Southeast Asia' to thank our distributors in Southeast Asia and introduced the new 'Stax-X' machine, a user-friendly Stacked Washer-Extractor/Tumble Dryer which comes with the Quantum Gold Control designed to maximise store space and ROI, available in two capacities: Stax-X 30lb and Stax-X 50lb. Additionally, we also have a new washer-dryer combo machine that allows customers to wash and dry their laundry in one machine within an hour without the hassle of transferring clothing between machines.”

In addition to market expansion, ALS places importance on sustainability by implementing measures to reduce environmental impact, such as recycling paper and plastic waste, recycling water in testing laboratories, installing solar panels on factory rooftops, and sourcing 72 per cent of suppliers locally and regionally to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (carbon footprint) in the supply chain.

“ALS believes that strong businesses must grow sustainably. Therefore, we are committed to reducing carbon footprints while driving innovation to create an environmentally friendly future,” Dobbs concluded.

For more information, fill out details and questions through this contact form, and an ALS representative will respond soon as possible.

This press release was supplied.

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