Creating a System That Doesn't Yet Exist – The Beginning of the Challenge
Vietnam’s laundry market is evolving rapidly. While traditional laundromats still operate across many neighborhoods, customer expectations have significantly increased. They no longer just want a place to drop off and pick up their laundry—they seek cleaner results, more convenience, and a service they can truly trust.
Amid these changes, Wash Friends is pioneering a new market in Vietnam.
How can we satisfy more customers? How can we differentiate from existing laundromats?
After extensive research and analysis, Wash Friends developed four core strategies to expand in Vietnam:
- Expanding premium stores to redefine high-end laundry services
- Developing self-service and hybrid laundromats to create a new type of laundry space
- Establishing smart laundry factories as the foundation for the next-generation laundry industry
- Leveraging O2O platforms and B2B expansion to enhance customer experience and business scalability
Expanding Premium Stores – Setting a New Standard for High-End Laundry
Luxury items such as designer bags, suits, and dresses require special care that standard laundromats often cannot provide. However, customers had no choice but to entrust their valuables to traditional laundries, sometimes resulting in damaged garments and service complaints.
Wash Friends addressed this issue by expanding its premium laundry stores.
We introduced state-of-the-art laundry equipment, eco-friendly detergents, and a meticulous washing process. Customers can also track their laundry progress in real time through our system.
Furthermore, we partnered with premium apartment complexes, high-end office buildings, and luxury hotels to make our services even more accessible. At Wash Friends, laundry is not just about cleaning clothes—it is about total garment care.
However, premium services alone were not enough.
In cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, young professionals and students needed a faster, more flexible way to do laundry. After long workdays or late-night study sessions, they required a space where they could wash their clothes at their convenience.
Yet, Vietnam currently lacks the proper infrastructure for such services.
Traditional laundromats operate with limited hours and struggle to meet the speed customers expect. Recognizing this gap, Wash Friends began developing a new laundry infrastructure.
Self-Service and Hybrid Laundromats – Innovating Laundry Spaces
Wash Friends is introducing a hybrid model that combines self-service laundromats with premium laundry care.
Currently, Vietnam lacks 24-hour laundromats that can cater to the needs of busy professionals and younger generations who require more flexible services.
Our hybrid laundromat model will revolutionize the traditional concept of laundromats. It will include:
- A fully automated laundromat operating 24/7
- Professional cleaning services for luxury and delicate items
- An integrated O2O system for booking, payments, and laundry tracking via a mobile app
Customers can wash their everyday clothes themselves while leaving delicate fabrics to our laundry experts.
This concept does not yet exist in Vietnam, and Wash Friends is taking the lead in developing it.
Smart Laundry Factories – A Game Changer for Vietnam’s Laundry Market by 2028
Operating individual laundromats has its limitations.
Even with hybrid stores combining premium and self-service laundry, maintaining consistent quality and speed requires a large-scale laundry processing system.
Countries like South Korea have already implemented smart laundry factories with companies like Laundrygo and Laundry Hero. These systems integrate logistics and automated laundry processing so that customers can simply place an order via mobile and receive their cleaned laundry through delivery.
Currently, Wash Friends operates small-scale laundry factories in Vietnam to optimize service efficiency and accumulate operational expertise. Since 2023, we have been running a facility in Hanoi, analyzing Vietnam’s laundry consumption trends and collecting valuable market data.
Our goal is to establish Vietnam’s first large-scale smart laundry factory tailored to local market needs.
Once operational, customers will benefit from:
- Mobile-based laundry services with no need to visit a physical store
- Factory-based cleaning with efficient pickup and delivery
- Consistent cleaning standards capable of handling bulk laundry with precision
However, building this system in Vietnam from the ground up takes time.
By studying consumer behavior, pricing sensitivity, and demand for delivery laundry, Wash Friends is developing a customized smart laundry solution.
We anticipate 2028 as the milestone year for launching a full-scale smart laundry factory in Vietnam, as the market matures and demand for automated services increases.
Currently, Wash Friends’ small-scale laundry facilities serve as the foundation for this future system, gathering real-time operational data to build the ultimate smart laundry infrastructure.
By 2028, Wash Friends aims to set a new industry benchmark with Vietnam’s first and most advanced smart laundry factory.
Coming Next: O2O Services and B2B Expansion
As Vietnam’s laundry industry continues to grow, the next step is to explore how Wash Friends will revolutionize customer experience through O2O platforms and expand into the B2B sector. Stay tuned for Part 3.
