Is a Thai laundromat still worth investing in, in 2026?

Is the market growing or shrinking in 2026?

Market value keeps rising — from roughly THB 3bn in 2020 to about THB 13.5bn in 2024, with current estimates near THB 16bn. That figure is easy to misread, because a growing market is being divided among shops that are multiplying faster than it grows.

Shop count went from about 4,550 at the end of 2023 to roughly 5,000 at the end of 2024 and 6,400–6,500 by April 2026, across more than 50 competing brands. About 55% of Thai districts now have coverage, and brands have started pushing down to sub-district level — a familiar late-cycle signal in retail.

What does per-shop revenue look like now?

The same analysis reports shops whose daily takings fell from over THB 10,000 per day to roughly THB 1,000–3,000 per day within two to three years. Treat that as a base case for risk assessment, not as a worst case.

A stronger signal comes from one of the largest operators in the market, a listed company with over 640 branches. Its first-half 2026 results showed total revenue up around 10% on new openings — but same-store sales down 3.6% for the half and down 8.8% in the second quarter.

Read that carefully: if an operator with an app, a 24-hour call centre and a professional site-selection team is posting negative same-store sales, a single-shop projection should not assume revenue growth.

One of the biggest players stopped selling franchises. What does that mean?

In January 2026 a major operator announced it would stop selling franchises altogether and expand only company-owned stores, describing the market plainly as a red ocean. It held 79 franchised branches against 565 company-owned, and had not added franchise locations for about three years.

Its stated reasons why franchised shops underperform were unclean stores, frequent breakdowns with slow repairs, and support that customers could not reach. None of those is a demand problem — they are management and after-sales problems, which makes them a useful checklist for choosing a brand.

Is the market saturated?

Not nationally. Locally, yes — and the local level is the one that decides whether an investor survives.

• Against saturation: unserved areas remain, particularly at district and sub-district level, and major machine manufacturers have entered Thailand in the last two years — not the behaviour of firms that think a category is dying.
• For saturation: a shop needs a catchment of roughly 6,000–8,000 people. Three shops in one street divide that catchment three ways, while rent, depreciation and energy costs do not divide at all.
• The resale market is active, and asking prices commonly land near a third of the original investment. That is a number to know before investing, not after.

The framing we use with every prospect: the market is not full, but the good locations are. National headroom is real and irrelevant to someone deciding on one specific shophouse.

So how should you decide?

Change the question from "is this business still good" to "is this location still open", then check five things before signing a lease.

• Count competitors within 1–2 km yourself, including independents and anything under construction.
• Estimate rental housing within walking distance rather than total population — your customers are people without their own machine.
• Set a base-case revenue assumption, then re-test at 30–40% below it and check whether rent and instalments are still covered.
• Ask the brand directly whether the contract includes a protected radius, and how it is written.
• Ask about parts availability and how quickly a technician reaches the shop. A week of downtime in a good location costs more than the repair.

TOKIWASH analyses locations free and without obligation, looking at competitors in the radius, the surrounding housing mix, and comparable branches already operating. If the analysis says a location should not be opened, that is what we will tell you.