From self-service to shared laundry, isn’t it painful?

The "sharing economy" is blowing, where will the next wave go? From cars and bicycles to power banks and umbrellas, these shared products have taken turns to enter people's daily lives. Recently, in the Youth Long-term Rental Apartment City of Jiyuecheng in Nanshan District, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, some businesses have set their sights on the laundry business. This shared laundry shop focuses on "laundry + social + leisure". In between laundry, people can drink coffee and communicate, which has attracted many people to come and "try it out". Some investors said that although the business model of shared washing machines is logically sound, it is unclear whether it can withstand the test of the real market.

“Targeting the mobile population in long-term rental apartments”

"Washing costs 10 yuan for 35 minutes, and drying costs 10 yuan for 30 minutes. The capacity of both machines is 10 kilograms. For every additional yuan added to the drying cost, the drying time is increased by 3 minutes. WeChat and Alipay payments are supported." According to Ni Yicheng, chairman of Shenzhen "Yixiba" Laundry Service Co., Ltd., the implementation of shared washing machines in Shenzhen is not a sudden whim.

In 2014, Ni Yicheng began his field research, "trying everything from factory areas, street shops to high-end communities", and finally chose Shenzhen Youth Apartment Community as the first stop.

"Most of the people living in these hotel-style long-term rental apartments are migrant workers. Most of them will not buy washing machines specifically, because it is inconvenient to move in the future, it takes up their own space, and young white-collar workers prefer to save time for washing and drying clothes to do other things." Ni Yicheng said: "At the same time, young people are more receptive to new consumption patterns."

At present, "Yixiba" has cooperated with Joy City, Vanke Parkview, 18Plus, Kaisa, Litchi Apartment, China Merchants Real Estate, etc., and 250 sets of shared washing machines have been put into multiple stores. "We have set our sights on the apartment market. Now the key is to cooperate with more brand apartments and establish a good reputation in the market." Ni Yicheng is not shy about his development strategy of "encircling the market".

Luo Fengming, founder of the long-term apartment rental platform "Hewu", analyzed that for the apartment owners, the entry of shared laundry can reduce the cost of putting in household washing machines, saving costs in this regard. At the same time, many serviced apartments have different room types, some of which do not have balconies or are small in size and difficult to configure. "Shared laundry can play the offline social card and is also conducive to improving the service quality of the apartment community."

From self-service to sharing, the essence is the same?

In fact, long before the concept of "shared laundry" emerged, "self-service laundry" has existed in my country for more than ten years. Around 2011, coin-operated washing machines began to appear in some university dormitories and factory dormitories. Since 2015, large home appliance companies such as Haier and Midea have successively deployed smart self-service laundry, using apps as visual operation interfaces and WeChat and Alipay as payment ports. However, the "self-service model" has not been popular until May this year, when a group of self-service washing machines with washing and drying functions appeared on the streets of Shanghai business districts, which attracted heated discussions among citizens by taking advantage of the hot "sharing" concept.

In the shared laundry room of Shenzhen Jiyuecheng, when you open the mobile app or scan the QR code with your mobile phone, the interface will automatically switch to the function page. In addition to upgrading the previous coin-operated mode to mobile payment, users can also check the status of the washing machine, waiting time, etc. on the interface. According to industry insiders, traditional self-service washing machines are more concentrated in the field of coin-operated laundry, and the machines used are all household machines that cost hundreds of yuan each. As long as an external coin box or card reader is added, they can be named "commercial machines" and enter the market. The shared washing equipment is an all-in-one machine with both drying and washing functions, with greater power and built-in communication modules.

However, industry insiders said that the so-called "sharing model" is actually the development and continuation of the "self-service model". In this regard, Ni Yicheng said that the washing machines in the sharing model are fully intelligent, and the focus is to use the technology of the Internet of Things to build a big data platform. In the future, it will rely on the monetization of the big data platform rather than a single laundry service. "The operation team can collect user information through Internet tools such as apps, public accounts, websites, and mini-programs to achieve possible follow-up operations, so that the project can achieve extended growth."

Hygiene conditions become one of the difficulties in promotion

However, industry insiders said that the consumption habits of users are a difficulty in promoting shared laundry. In addition to whether or not people accept the sharing model, concerns about hygiene are also one of the problems.

Ms. Li, who lives in Jiyuecheng, has used a shared washing machine for the third time. She said that shared laundry does solve daily needs. However, out of concern for hygiene, she would give priority to shared laundry for "large items" such as curtains, quilt covers, and coats that cannot be washed by hand and are not easy to dry, while small clothes that are close to the body are washed by hand. She said: "Although the shared washing machine is marked with ozone and high-temperature sterilization functions, it is unclear what others have washed before." This statement is recognized by many tenants.

Question: Shared washing machines target a small number of customers

Zeng Xiaochun, who is engaged in laundry business, believes that the target customers of shared washing machines are still a small group at present, and it will take some time for the public to accept them. "From my point of view, washing clothes is a very private matter. Shared washing machines make private scenes social. At first, young people may follow the trend and use them, but in the long run, they are still willing to solve the problem of washing clothes in their own residential areas."

With the rise of rental housing, whether shared washing machines can take advantage of this opportunity to expand the market has become a topic of concern. Zeng Xiaochun believes that tenants of low-end rental housing are very sensitive to prices. Compared with coin-operated washing machines that cost 5 yuan per use, shared washing machines that cost 10-20 yuan per use are too expensive; tenants of mid- to high-end rental housing mostly own or are equipped with personal washing machines, so shared washing machines are not a pain point for them.

“If there is no other way to monetize, the recovery period is too long”

At present, the general view in the venture capital community is that the pain points of shared washing machines are not painful.

Liu Ying, co-founder of the Magic Academy of Entrepreneurship, said that although the business model of shared washing machines is logically sound and will generate considerable profits over the life of the washing machine once users develop consumption habits, the business model still needs to be tested in more markets.

"The current scramble for shared washing machines has invisibly exacerbated its asset-heavy attributes. At the same time, the replacement cost of a shared washing machine service provider is very low for developers or properties. If the service provider cannot have a good influence on users quickly, it will be easily replaced by other service providers. In addition, shared washing machines must be able to develop other monetization values ​​besides laundry, otherwise the annual recovery period will be too long without the guarantee of a deposit." Liu Ying said.

According to industry insiders, for example, a set of washing machines imported from the United States with ozone disinfection and drying functions cost more than 40,000 yuan, and based on the current frequency of use and charging of laundry services, the payback period is 3 years. The shared laundry model needs to transform from "heavy assets to light platforms", which means that it relies heavily on capital.

Liu Wenxuan, senior investment manager at Guosen Fund, said that sharing washing machines will inevitably consume time costs. "Washing machines are now mass consumer goods and have little impact on a person's living costs. It is normal to bring your own washing machine, so you don't have to wait in line to use a shared washing machine."

Viewpoint

Is the sharing economy becoming less popular?

In fact, washing machines are not the only products that have entered the "sharing economy model". In addition to the well-known shared bicycles, there are also shared power banks that can be found everywhere in major shopping malls, restaurants and hotels. In addition, there are also umbrellas, basketballs, and even inflatable dolls.

On one hand, Wukong Bike, Kuqi Bike, and Bluegogo have all withdrawn from the market, and it is difficult to get the deposit back. On the other hand, Ledian, once a pioneer in shared power banks, announced that it would stop sharing business and take back all charging equipment. Reshuffle, adjustment, and exit, all the information has touched the sensitive nerves of the industry. Which is better or worse in the sharing trend?

Chen Qingsen, senior investment manager of Hipeng Capital, believes that the focus of the sharing economy is the business model of the project. "Shared bicycles and shared power banks have been sought after by a lot of capital from their launch to their expansion. It can be said that they are capital-driven projects that were forcibly opened up by money, but the most fundamental thing is that their business model is not a big problem, and the accounts can be calculated. I think they are currently the better business model in the sharing economy." Chen Qingsen said that for shared washing machines, which are more asset-heavy products, in addition to emphasizing product operations in the future, a good way is to attract industry investors by creating imagination space and find new growth points for the washing machine industry.

Chen Wenxiong, chairman of Qingying Capital, agrees with the idea of ​​developing the needs of laundry users at multiple levels. "When washing clothes with a shared washing machine, cleanliness and high efficiency are just the basics. If we can then develop new laundry scenarios and use them as an entry point to drive other consumption, then there will be a lot of room for imagination." Chen Wenxiong believes that in addition to the large social scenarios that shared washing machines are currently selling, creating relatively private laundry scenarios is also very promising, such as dating between men and women in single apartments.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.