The market for textile rental services in the CEE countries (Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania) grew by 14% last year to a volume of €454.8 million. Double-digit growth is also expected this year, according to a study by Interconnection Consulting.

For 2023, the study forecasts growth of 10.2% for textile rental services in the CEE countries. In the coming years, growth will be more moderate, averaging around 5%. The market volume shows that, compared to Western Europe, the market is still in its infancy and still has considerable room for improvement in terms of economic output. “Romania in particular is still in the entry phase with very few players,” explains Laszlo Barla, the author of the study. Overall, Poland is by far the most important market with a market volume of around €200 million. The Czech Republic and Hungary follow with €98 million and €80 million respectively.

Industry is the Dominant Sales Market

Industry, handcraft & trade is the largest sales market for textile rental services, accounting for around two-thirds of the total market volume. The automotive sector is an important customer in Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Poland. The hospitality sector is a long way behind with 13.3% and the healthcare sector with a share of 12.4%. The share of industry, handcraft & trade in the largest CEE submarket is even more impressive. In Poland, the share of the industry & handcraft & trade sector is around 75%. In the Czech Republic, the share of the healthcare sector is disproportionately high at around a quarter of the total volume. Overall, the hospitality sector will generate the highest growth. In 2023 alone, Interconnection expects an increase in revenue of 17%. Workwear is the strongest product segment with a share of 55%, followed by linen service with around 12% and mat services with 10%. Cleanroom textiles show the highest average annual growth rate at +7.9%.

Most Important Players Come from the West

Among the competitors, in addition to Elis (France) and CWS (Germany), Lindström (Finland), which focuses on workwear and mat services and Salesianer Miettex from Austria (as a full-service provider) are also important. Overall, the top 5 companies have a market share of around 63%.

The market for textile rental services in Western Europe will see an increase in value of around 7% this year. Last year, the market already exceeded the pre-crisis level with an increase of 15.3%. In particular, the countries hit hardest by the pandemic, such as France, Spain, Portugal and the UK, are experiencing a strong upswing, according to a study by Interconnection Consulting.

Catching Up in Hotel & Gastro

The study examined the markets for textile rental services in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and the UK. In total, this resulted in a turnover of €11.9 billion in 2022. Germany is the largest market, with nearly €3.8 billion, followed by France (€2.2 billion) and the UK (€1.9 billion). In Germany, the main focus of the market for textile rental services is the industry, handcraft & trade segment, with a market share of around 46%. Therefore, the country was not as affected by the decline of the industry as Southern Europe, where the market is more dominated by the hospitality customer segment. As a result, the rebound of the German market did not have the same impact as in Spain or France. In France, the market grew by 22.1% last year and in Spain by as much as 34.1%. Compared to Germany (19%), the share of the hospitality segment in Spain is 55.1% and in France around 30%. The UK also saw a disproportionately strong rebound in recent years, but after the market also suffered a disproportionate slump during the Covid-19 pandemic. The increase last year was 24%.

Industry, Handcraft & Trade Largest Customer

The largest customer segment is industry, handcraft & trade with a turnover of €4.9 billion, followed by healthcare with €3.3 billion and hospitality segment with €2.9 billion. While hotel & gastronomy suffered dramatic losses in 2020 due to the administrative closures, the healthcare sector was actually the only sector to increase slightly during this period (+1%). Thus, however, there are hardly any catch-up effects in this sector. The healthcare sector is most strongly represented in Italy, with a market share of 59%. The largest product group is linen service, which is in strong demand in the hotel & gastronomy sector, but is also used in the healthcare sector. Cleanroom textiles show stronger growth rates than the overall market. Last year, the segment grew by around 13% and should reach a sales volume of over €600 million in 2023.

High Market Concentration

Elis from France is the market leader in Western Europe, covering all products and customer segments. Other important players are Bardusch, CWS, DBL, Johnson Service Group, Mewa, Rentokil-Initial. CWS from Duisburg is a very important player in hygiene (mats and washroom). Mewa, in turn, is number one in the industrial wipers business. In the cleanroom segment, besides Elis and CWS, Servizi Italia and Bardusch are also important players. The market for textile rental services is highly concentrated. The top 5 companies have a market share of around 47%.