SPOTLIGHT ON SPAIN


Tourism drives market growth


The tourism sector continues to be the major driver of growth for the Spanish laundry and drycleaning market, writes Eugene Gerden


he Spanish laundry and drycleaning sector is demonstrating positive dynamics this year, thanks to the improving Span ish economy and stable demand for the most of industry’s services. While the pandemic and energy crisis in Europe had a negative impact on the industry, as of now it has almost completely recovered from their negative consequences, showing good growth rates, which is observed from the Madrid to Spain’s richest province, Catalonia.


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The capitol city of Madrid and its agglomeration has always been positioned as one of the centres of laundry and drycleaning business, which is also due to a high level of economic development in the region and the high number of tourists – the main driver of growth of the industry in Spain. Despite the closure of many laundries in this region during 2020-2022, in recent years the economic situation has significantly improved. Ana Isabel Peña Rocha, project director of the Professional Association of Dry Cleaners and Laundry of Madrid (ASTYLCAM) comments: “After 2020, the year of the [appearance of the] Coronavirus pandemic, many drycleaners and laundries closed. However, once the effects of Coronavirus on a social and economic level have passed, in Spain, the laundry and drycleaning sector has experienced a great moment, as all the events and tourist activities that had previously been canceled or paralysed were held. Furthermore, the Coronavirus effect created a greater awareness among the population about washing their clothes and household items, since at the beginning of the crisis, our business was considered by the Spanish government as an essential service for society. And since there were fewer drycleaners on the market, there was more work to distribute.’


According to Peña Rocha, despite some successes, in recent years the development of the industry has been heterogeneous, being largely depending on geographical areas. “In Spain in general, the drycleaning and laundry business has decreased in recent years: the clothes sold are increasingly of poorer quality


and cheaper, so they are not taken to the drycleaners. In offices, a suit is not required as in the past; There are fewer specialist personnel and new generations prefer to work in the digital sector, so dyers retire and there is no generational change. However, in regions such as the Community of Madrid, due to its policies, the impact is less than in the rest of Spain, although they are experiencing the same problems. Furthermore, Madrid, unlike the rest of Spain, has the professional association, ASTYLCAM, fully


ANDRÉ TIENEMANN, Kanegiesser sales director, Spain


dedicated to helping, advising and managing any matter that may affect the sector. In fact, during the pandemic, the dry cleaning and laundry sector of the Community of Madrid was the one that suffered the least from the crisis, due to the great work. “While the Community of Madrid has always been the economic engine of Spain, in recent years it has experienced a huge economic boom, with a special increase in the tourism sector. This has led to an increase in work in our sector, especially in laundry, which has caused a large increase in laundry openings,” says Peña Rocha.


The Spanish laundry and drycleaning sector has always been of interest to global major players, many of which have significantly strengthened their positions in this market in recent years. One example is Kannegiesser, as its sales director André Tienemann explains how 2023 and early 2024 were marked by exceptional success for the company in the Spanish laundry market. “Our strong subsidiary played a key role in this achievement, allowing us to further solidify our leading position in Spain. We also made significant progress in meeting the individual needs of


STREAM LINED: Jensen’s Nicholas Gostony believes tourism will continue to be a key factor in laundries’ success 12 LCNi | May 2024 www.laundryandcleaningnews.com


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