Philippines seen as key growth market for Alliance Laundry Systems

Upgrade to High-Speed Internet for only ₱1499/month!

Enjoy up to 100 Mbps fiber broadband, perfect for browsing, streaming, and gaming.

Visit Suniway.ph to learn

May 21, 2026 | 2:25pm

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines is one of the countries taking center stage in Alliance Laundry Systems’ Southeast Asia expansion plans, even as Thailand remains the company’s long-term manufacturing and operational hub for its Asia-Pacific business. 

Philstar.com was among those invited to tour the company’s Thailand facility on May 7, where the company’s leadership outlined its regional strategy, highlighting a combination of centralized manufacturing, distributor-led expansion and long-term market development across Southeast Asia.

Managing Director Ben Dobbs said the Thailand facility was designed as a central production base for the region, with sufficient capacity and land area for future expansion.

“Thailand will remain the central hub for Asia,” Dobbs said, adding that the plant is not nears its production ceiling and can scale quickly when demand increases.

Philippines as part of SEA growth strategy

Within the company’s regional roadmap, the Philippines is being positioned alongside Indonesia and Vietnam as a priority growth market, driven by rising urban demand and expanding middle-class consumption.

Executives described the market as still developing but already showing clear signs of transition toward more structured, modern laundromat systems.

Dobbs said the company’s expansion approach in the Philippines will follow its broader Southeast Asia strategy of building through partnerships rather than direct market entry.

“We are really committed to Southeast Asian emerging markets… what we achieved in Thailand is a footprint we want to replicate in markets like the Philippines,” he said.

The Philippines, according to executives, is expected to follow a gradual development path similar to Thailand’s earlier market stages, where smaller laundry setups eventually evolved into larger, more standardized franchise systems.

He noted that early-stage formats in the country often consist of smaller laundry setups, while the longer-term direction is expected to shift toward larger, fully equipped laundromat stores.

“In emerging markets, the challenge is convincing investors. In mature markets, the challenge is increasing usage,” Sukree said.

He added that laundromat development follows a long-term investment cycle, with successful outlets often operating for decades once established.

Distributor-focused model

A central pillar of Alliance Laundry Systems’ strategy in the Philippines and other emerging markets is its distributor-led business model.

Dobbs also said the company does not sell directly to end users, but instead works through distributors who act as both commercial partners and franchise builders.

He explained that these distributors often build full ecosystem operations, including installation, maintenance and franchise expansion under established laundromat brands. This model, he added, has been critical in scaling operations across Thailand and Malaysia and is now being extended to other Southeast Asian markets.

Emerging vs mature markets

The panel discussion also touched on how emerging markets differ from mature markets in the industrial laundry sector, and what it takes for these markets to grow. Kirai said the distinction lies largely in market maturity, population scale and adoption behavior.

He explained that the company focuses on high-population emerging markets such as the Philippines and Vietnam due to their long-term growth potential.

“Because laundromat is all about population. So we saw almost 300 million people in Indonesia and 100 million in the Philippines and Vietnam. This is a big market,” Kirai said.

Kirai added that Thailand’s experience serves as a model for expansion into neighboring markets with similar consumer behavior patterns.

He added that Thailand’s experience serves as a model for expansion into neighboring markets with similar consumer behavior patterns.

“So we saw the success story in Thailand. So that’s why I think this can be helpful to Indonesia and the Philippines.”

The company is set to visit Cebu in 2027 as part of its regional push to promote laundromat market development in key Southeast Asian markets through a series of public relations and stakeholder engagement activities. 

It also aims to strengthen distributor confidence and support market expansion efforts by reinforcing long-term growth plans and providing clearer commercial direction in host countries. 

___
Editor's note: The trip to Thailand was hosted by Alliance Laundry Systems. At no stage does the host organization have a say in the stories generated from the coverage, interviews conducted, publication date and story treatment. Content is produced solely by Philstar.com following editorial guidelines.