China emerging market of sanitation service
Updated: 2011-10-27 17:24
(China Daily Guangzhou Bureau)
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The constantly rising living standard has created a rapidly growing demand for professional toilet sanitation and pest control services from businesses in China.
Swisher, which has been providing such services on the Chinese mainland since 2004, saw its revenue increase by 50 percent to about 60 million yuan in last year's market, said Franco Lam, chairman of Swisher's greater China operation, in an interview with China Daily.
Lam expected the Chinese mainland market to repeat the growth every year in coming years, as the company clinches deals with more clients such as hotels, restaurants, commercial buildings, office buildings and schools.
The clients pay a few hundred or thousand yuan a month for weekly toilet sanitation or pest control services. Instead of daily cleaning, the weekly sanitation of toilets focuses on deep cleaning and disinfection.
"We spent the first five years learning the market, which has matured a lot in the past two years," Lam said, adding Swisher has actually created a special market on the mainland.
"The mainland used to have rather notorious reputation for toilet sanitation but, with higher living standards, people have come to realize they need clean toilets to attract clients."
With better knowledge of the market and confidence, the company plans to speed up expansion and double the cities it serves to 30 within five years, serving the cities either through franchising or company-owned operations, Lam said.
"The market we have now is just a tip of iceberg. Pest control services, which account for only about 25 percent of our business on the mainland, will prove even bigger." Major clients for pest control include restaurants, hotels and offices.
Apart from services, Swisher also sells toilet paper products on the mainland and plans to introduce its range cleaning products to the market in the future.
Employing about 500 people on the mainland, the company finds its major bottleneck is in the training of front line, sales and management personnel, Lam said.
NASDAQ and TSX listed-Swisher Hygiene, Inc., founded in 1986 in the United States, runs its business with a global network of company-owned operations, franchises and master licensees.