The 86-year-old laundry company Sin Chai Hua is set to expand its new store model to cover the mass market and beef up its franchising business.
Managing director Piyapol Karnjanarporn said the company just opened its new Sin Chai Hua laundry service concept at Sanam Luang Song, also known as Thonburi Market, on Thawi Watthana Road.
The new shop will provide a one-stop service from coin-operated laundry machines and dry cleaning for all kinds of items from apparel, bedsheets and curtains to sneakers to cloth bags for companies and individual customers.
Sin Chai Hua is run by the third generation of the Karnjanarporn family, owning three laundry factories, two in Bangkok and one in Pak Chong district in Nakhon Ratchasima.
The company operates a laundry service and textile rental mainly to corporate clients such as hotels and airlines, healthcare providers and industrial factories. Major customers include Thai Airways International Plc, the State Railway of Thailand, Honda, Esso and Mitsubishi.
"From now on, we will widen our business to cover small customers," Mr Piyapol said. "While 7-Eleven is the convenience store for consumer goods, we aim to become the convenience store for laundry."
The company runs 40 Sin Chai Hua shops in Bangkok and suburban areas, 35 of which it owns and five that are under a franchise system.
The brand offers three models under the franchise system for participating investors. The first model features 30-40 square metres and has only a counter as a pickup point to take orders for laundry service, requiring an investment of 600,000 baht.
The second model needs space of 50 sq m with coin-operated laundry machines, requiring an investment of 2.3 million baht, and the third model combines the two features. These models require 3-5 years to break even, Mr Piyapol said.
"We started to provide coin-operated machines because the market for coin-operated laundry shops has flourished over the past few years and the market trend will continue because of changing lifestyles," he said. "Customers now pursue a modern lifestyle and they have limited time for housework, particularly laundry."
According to Kasikorn Research Center, the laundry service market is estimated at 40 billion baht a year.
Laundry service has grown in popularity for several years, with the entry of new brands last year including Maru Laundry from Taiwan, LaundryBar and CleanPro from Malaysia and Thailand's Image Laundry Systems, Kolae Wash & Dry and Otteri Wash & Dry.
Even Haier, the Chinese electrical brand, has made a foray into the segment.
Mr Piyapol said the company plans to open seven new Sin Chai Hua shops this year and 20 more next year, all under its own investment and franchising.
The company reported sales of 500 million baht in 2019 and expects the figure to drop by 30% this year to 350 million baht because the Covid-19 outbreak has hit corporate clients, particularly hotels and airlines.
