The market for laundries - Portugal

1.1 Market presentation

The self-service laundry market is part of the wider retail laundry market. This activity consists of making washing machines and dryers available to the public, for a period of occasional use, at a rate per kilo or per garment. We can therefore distinguish laundry from dry cleaning, in which one or more people provide dry cleaning and/or ironing of clothes. Unlike dry cleaning, in an automatic laundry it is sometimes possible to enjoy alternative services to waiting until the end of the washing process, such as an internet café or a fast-food area.

Laundrettes are generally located in city centers or near accommodation areas (student residences, campsites, etc.). When integrated into a franchise network, they benefit from this network's reputation, experience and know-how (administrative, commercial, technical and maintenance).

Self-service laundry is a business model that has become very popular in Portugal in recent years, especially during the crisis, when many Portuguese stopped buying washing machines. The Portuguese market, which grew by an average of 8.38% per year between 2015 and 2019, is characterized by high fragmentation into several small players. Therefore, to face the competition, some new trends are emerging to transform the experience into something more pleasant for consumers, such as offering internet access, comfortable cafeterias and other amenities to make the waiting time more enjoyable.