SPOTLIGHT ON BENELUX
Quiet optimism in the low countries
In Benelux, there is optimism as demand grows for textile care services with maybe a little worry about inflation mixed in. Eugene Gerden reports
he Benelux laundry and drycleaning sector looks towards future with optimism due to the ever- increasing demand for the industry’s services despite the generally high level of inflation and the ever rising costs.
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According to Statistics Netherlands, the Netherlands’ statistical service, the annual average inflation rate in the country is around 3-4%, being significantly higher in utilities, water, energy, where these figures exceed 10-11%. Almost the same situation
is observed in Belgium.
That puts serious pressure on the industry, forcing leading regional players and global players, operating in the local market to consider more active introduction of new industry’s technologies and concepts in order to remain competitive in the local market. Still, despite the ever-rising costs, the industry shows generally good dynamics these days. According to experts of the Federation of Textile Management of Netherlands (FTN) – a public association, which unites leading local laundry and drycleaning operators in the Netherlands, the industry has good prospects for further growth, which is mainly due to the development of new markets, which provides additional opportunities for leading domestic players.
According to FTN, the Netherlands has a mature well-developed textile sector, which consists of about 500 companies, of which 10-20 companies are positioned as large, controlling the bulk of the market. In value terms, the industry is estimated at EUR 900 million.
At the same time the textile care sector of Belgium is comprised of about 400 companies that employ about 7,000 workers. More than half of the companies are located in Flanders - the Dutch- speaking northern portion of Belgium. The 20 largest laundries alone account for more than half of overall number of workers in the industry and about half of its value. The segment of health care remains one of the major customers of laundries of dry cleaners in Belgium at present, with working clothes accounting for most of treated types of clothing and textile in the country.
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In the meantime, the Benelux laundry and drycleaning sector has always been within the interests of global players, most of which have traditionally considered the local market as one of the most promising for their growth at least in the EU.
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