SMART Wash Sdn Bhd, a leading laundry services provider and franchisor with 43 franchised outlets in Malaysia, aims to expand its business abroad, particularly in Indonesia and Vietnam.

Marketing and operations manager Abdul Rahman Osman said the company would appoint a master franchisee in Indonesia and Vietnam.

“We plan to open an outlet in South Jakarta, an up-market area, by early fourth quarter. This will be followed by Vietnam in the first quarter of 2008,” he said.

Abdul Rahman said Smart Wash had invested about RM3mil to import some10 units of dry cleaning machines and accessories like press ironer and fabric cleaning machine for its new dry cleaning outlet.

It has also started a dry cleaning centre costing RM270,000.

He said the company was confident of opening 10 to 12 dry cleaning centres over the next eight months. It would cost between RM15,800 and RM68,300 for each Smart Wash laundry franchise outlet.

Vice-executive chairman Tan Sri Adzmi Abdul Wahab said prospects for the retailing market was “very bright” and demand for laundry services would continue to rise.

“Tough competition will be there. Our advantage is we are the first company to franchise the laundry services. Today, we have quite a number of outlets nationwide,” he said.

Adzmi stressed that franchising was a way to expand the business quickly.

“Franchising is also a way to support the young entrepreneurs to start their own businesses with a low capital,” said Adzmi, who is also Yasmin Holdings Sdn Bhd adviser.

Yasmin Holdings wholly owned Jurumuda Sdn Bhd, a rust-proofing and service provider for Proton cars, while Smart Wash is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Jurumuda.

Set up in 1998, Smart Wash has gone through difficult times in its early years as a result of poor market condition after the 1997 economic downturn.

Abdul Rahman said the company had revamped its operations and went into franchising in 2000.

He said Smart Wash opened its first franchise outlet in May 2004 at the PKNS flat at Jalan Tun Razak in Kuala Lumpur. Later in December 2004, it expanded its network to 15 franchisees in the country.

Today, it has 43 franchised outlets, including two in Sarawak. “We will open our latest outlet in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, by end of next month,” he added. Abdul Rahman said the company also planned to open more outlets, particularly in Terengganu and Kelantan.

Besides its laundry services and trading of new and used laundry equipment to its franchisee, Smart Wash will also provide a wireless terminal service for its franchisees. This service will be launched by July.

The terminal will replace the cash register and it could be used to pay utility bills as well. “We expect to set up 500 terminals for our existing franchisees over the first six months,” Abdul Rahman said.

Smart Wash will also start a “smart pick-up centre” service in July to provide better and more convenient service to its customers.

It foresees its local and overseas expansion to boost sales to RM3.5mil this year from RM1.2mil last year.