LAUNDRYBAR – Revolutionising The Laundry Business in ASEAN

Paul Ang, Founder and Group Managing Director, and Sandra Chua, Co-founder and Executive Director of City Coin Laundry Sdn Bhd speak to Christina Thomas about the revolutionary and innovative o erings of LaundryBar.

LaundryBar, a trademark self-service laundry concept by City Coin Laundry Sdn Bhd, is trailblazing the laundry industry. A market leader in self-service laundry, the company is rapidly capturing market share and earning a sterling reputation for service excellence, quality and innovation.

The brainchild of Paul Ang and Sandra Chua, LaundryBar has grown in leaps and bounds from a single outlet to its current 450 outlets in Malaysia, 190 in Thailand, 11 in Brunei and 8 in Turkiye. Out of the 450 outlets in Malaysia, 110 outlets are corporate-owned by City Coin.

LAUNDRYBAR’S INCEPTION

An accountant by profession, Paul explains that LaundryBar was conceived a er a vacation overseas, where he found the concept of selfservice laundry to be a revolutionary solution for modern households. “Back in Malaysia, we started exploring the business model and realised that there were already several self-service laundry players in the market,” Paul says.

He adds that in the past, the common perception among Malaysians was that they already owned a washing machine at home and therefore did not need selfservice laundry outlets.

As true believers in the concept, the husband-and-wife team, went ahead with the idea. As Paul puts it, “We had to walk against the wind.” They materialised the idea by investing all their nancial resources into this venture as well as o ering franchising opportunities to interested entrepreneurs.

“Our rst outlet was located at Desa Aman Puri and we commenced operations on 4 March 2013,” Sandra explains. Business was tough at rst and the rst month’s income was not su cient to even cover the rental of the premises. However, with sheer resilience and patience, Paul and Sandra took the ‘road less travelled’ and continued to work on the business. Reaping the fruits of their labour, the duo saw the business improve rapidly with revenue increasing month a er month from thereon.

A Revolutionary Business Model

Talking about their business model, Paul highlights that the company is passionate about franchising. “Initially, we just had a licensing programme, but we became a franchisor when we obtained our franchise license in 2017,” he explains.

Aside from franchising of laundry outlets, City Coin is also the exclusive distributor of Alliance Laundry Systems as well as a distributor for IPSO laundry equipment in Malaysia.

City Coin also o ers an investment scheme known as LaundryBar Mudarabbah. “We are the rst Shariah-compliant investment scheme in Malaysia to obtain approval from SSM,” Paul points out.

Technology And Innovation

Led by two inspirational entrepreneurs, Paul and Sandra, LaundryBar has achieved many ‘ rsts’ in the market. The company is the rst and only self-service laundry operator to provide free self-manufactured Halal detergent, so ener and sanitiser, delivering tremendous value-add to customers.

Strong believers in technology and innovation, Paul and Sandra are aiming to leverage on the latest digital technology to drive business performance and achieve service excellence.

LaundryBar is also the rst in Malaysia to implement a token payment system in lieu of cash thus curbing vandalism of machines, reducing cash handling costs, driving business retention and enhancing the brand value proposition. “We are gradually moving towards a cashless business concept to provide customers with convenience and franchisees with greater security,” Paul explains.

LaundryBar is also introducing LBPay, a convenient payment system using digital payment. In the future, the company hopes to partner with other payment gateways such as GrabPay, Boost and Touch n Go, among others.

“We are the rst in Malaysia to o er Duit Now cashless payment system, enabling customers to scan and pay. This substantially reduces the risks of handling cash. With technology we are also able to create loyalty programmes and top-up bonuses, among others,” he continues.

LaundryBar is also the rst brand to provide “Money Back Satisfaction Guarantee” for franchisee, with the option for City Coin to buy back assets in the event franchisees wish to discontinue the business. With this arrangement, the franchisees is able to minimise losses by recouping at least 70% of the capital invested into the business, thus lowering the nancial risk. The company is also the rst to o er zero franchise fees, making it a more attractive business proposition for aspiring entrepreneurs.

Additionally, LaundryBar is also the rst in Malaysia to o er an 8-year warranty period for machines. Other notable achievements under LaundryBar’s belt include the rst in Malaysia to feature a laundromat megastore concept comprising 35 full-range machines in each megastore.

As a trailblazer in the market, the company is also the rst in Malaysia to present the new “Washer and Dryer 2-in-1 Modern Self-service Laundry” concept featuring fully automatic, one-stop “clean and dry” process. “With our new combo machines, customers can enjoy one hour of non-stop washing and drying without having to transfer laundry from the washer to the dryer – making it a ‘one time job’,” beams Paul. The company is the exclusive distributor of Tosei 2-in-1 machines from Japan.

“We hope that by leveraging on technology and advanced laundry equipment, we can gradually increase the number of household users from the current 5% to 10% in the next 3 to 5 years,” explains Paul.

“Our intention is to encourage household users to leverage on LaundryBar’s self-service laundromats to save costs and reduce time spent on laundry thus improving the quality of life,” adds Sandra.

Achieving Milestones

With increasing openness towards self-service laundry among consumers, the market response towards LaundryBar has been growing rapidly. “Revenue has increased more than 147% in our corporate-owned stores, compared to 3 years ago,” Paul points out.

“We have also received recognition by the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (MDTCL) as an essential services business, during the pandemic, thus enabling self-service laundromats to operate despite the nationwide lockdown,” Sandra continues.

“With consumers saving time and costs through LaundryBar’s o erings, more than 6 million hours of savings have been achieved for the whole country. This is LaundryBar’s contribution to our country – enabling Malaysians to engage in more productive and economically lucrative activities, thus spurring growth for Malaysia’s economy,” explains Paul.

He stresses, “The self-service laundry industry contributes tremendously towards the country’s economic growth and social wellbeing.”

Spurring Entrepreneurship

To encourage entrepreneurship, LaundryBar collaborates with PERNAS to provide loans to

Bumiputera entrepreneurs. In 2022, the company exceeded its franchisee recruitment target, having recruited more than 75 franchisees throughout the year.

“In 2023, we are targeting to recruit 110 new franchisees,” says Sandra.

Since its inception in 2013, LaundryBar has seen a signi cant increase of Bumiputera participation in its franchise business, from less than 5% to 35% currently.

In fact, the company testi es to achieving the fastest ever Return On Investment (ROI) within 3 years, with more than 35% annual ROI. Paul credits this success to great timing, innovation, a strong sense of belief, consistency and honesty.

Future Direction

“Our position is very clear – this business adds value to society, therefore, we will continue to work together with MDTCL and other parties in pursuit of business expansion. We are continuously seeking opportunities to expand our local brand to be recognised internationally,” explains Paul.

Adding to Paul’s statement, Sandra continues that LaundryBar is aiming to publicly list the company by 2026 and become the number one self-service laundry in Southeast Asia. “PERNAS has indicated interest in investing in our company,” continues Paul.

He reiterates, “We are committed to continue with our innovation endeavours with the goal to create greater e ectiveness and expediency of business management, to deliver technology that is capable of revolutionising the self-service laundry industry through strategic investments.”