How an engagement runs.

Anonymized engagement: a self service laundromat chain in Buenos Aires

A real Alamera Partners engagement. Details are anonymized to protect client confidentiality.

The question

A foreign investor wanted to open a chain of self service laundromats in Buenos Aires, in the format common in Europe and North America: clean, automated stores open long hours, where customers wash and dry their own clothes. The question was simple: can this work in Argentina, and should they commit capital to it?

What we checked

• Demand and market. How people in Buenos Aires use traditional laundries today, and how quickly they might switch to self service.
• Locations. Candidate premises across target neighborhoods, including rent, foot traffic and building constraints.
• Channel checks. Conversations with operators and people in the trade on pricing, volumes and customer behavior.
• Equipment and supply. Commercial washers, dryers and payment systems, including import lead times, spare parts and local service.
• Technical and regulatory fit. Installation requirements for gas and electric equipment, ventilation rules and permits for each site.

Independent professionals worked alongside us: architects, compliance specialists and technical experts from equipment suppliers. They were engaged separately, and any regulated or technical advice came from them. Alamera coordinated the work and brought the findings together into one recommendation.

What we found

Almost everything checked out. Demand exists, suitable equipment can be sourced and serviced, payment systems work and sites can be found. Two problems did not go away.

Operating costs. A laundromat lives or dies on the cost of drying. With commercial electricity costs in Buenos Aires, electric drying did not leave enough margin. Gas drying does, but gas dryers need their exhaust vented above the roof of the building, not out onto the street. Few commercial premises can do that, and the ones that can, often units already fitted for restaurant use, are scarce and command higher rents. With utility tariffs still being normalized, energy costs could also rise over the life of the investment.

Competition. With import restrictions easing, franchise networks and local operators were opening automated stores quickly. The real challenge is moving customers from the old neighborhood laundry to a new format, and several well funded players chasing that same switch pointed to saturation in the best locations before a new entrant could reach scale.

Our recommendation

We advised the investor not to proceed. The concept was sound and execution was possible; the economics were not. We would revisit the case if commercial electricity costs fell materially, if gas ready premises became easier to secure, or if the current wave of openings left clear gaps in specific neighborhoods.

Sometimes the most valuable result of a feasibility study is a clear no, reached before the capital is spent.

Illustrative scenarios

The three examples below are composite, illustrative scenarios written to show how we structure work. They are not client stories and describe no real company or result.

A Canadian manufacturer weighing a Buenos Aires distribution entity

Illustrative scenario. A mid size industrial manufacturer sells into Argentina through an importer and wants to know whether its own local entity makes sense.

• Map the questions: importing, pricing in pesos, paying the parent abroad, hiring a small sales team.
• Line up independent local lawyers and accountants to set out entity options and their trade offs.
• Compare the options side by side and build a 90 day plan for the option the client chooses.

A US software company hiring its first people in Argentina

Illustrative scenario. A software company wants a small engineering team in Argentina and is unsure whether to hire employees or engage contractors.

• Set out the employee and contractor routes and the questions each raises, for review by local labor counsel.
• Plan how salaries or fees are paid and in which currency, against the current FX rules.
• Coordinate payroll and accounting providers the client engages directly.

A European investor reviewing a large project and the RIGI regime

Illustrative scenario. An investor is considering a large project and wants to understand whether the investment incentive regime is relevant before spending on detailed advice.

• Gather the official texts and the questions they raise for the specific project.
• Brief the investor's own lawyers and tax advisors so their time goes to the right questions.
• Keep a running watch list of rule changes during the decision period.

Operating experience

The principal has spent years on the operating side of businesses: building finance and operations functions, working through cross border payments and reporting, and coordinating outside lawyers, accountants and banks. In Argentina that means reading the official rules ourselves, keeping current as they change, and putting the right independent professionals in front of the client for the regulated work.

Every engagement follows the same pattern: understand the plan, list the questions, bring in licensed professionals where the work is regulated, and leave the client with a written plan they own.

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