Earning billions from public toilet business in Germany

(Baonghean.vn) - In Germany, there is a rather special company that provides free toilets to make a profit, not only that, but also earns up to 753 billion VND per year. So how does this company make a profit? How can dirty toilets be turned into money-making "machines"?

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Germany is always considered one of the most money-making countries in the world, even public toilets are carefully studied by many people to make a lot of money. In Germany, any individual or organization can bid and do business in public toilets.

Entrepreneur Hans Wahl has chosen to start a public toilet business in Berlin, Germany. This is a neglected business sector. Photo: Bloomberg

This is not an attractive business. The German government has a policy of expanding the number of toilets, every 500m there must be a public toilet. All public toilets in the city must serve from 500 to 1,000 people. Therefore, it is necessary to build more toilets. This is the need of the people.

Public toilet business is a hard and boring job, the locations are scattered, the construction and maintenance costs are very high. Therefore, many people are not very optimistic about this business model, while it is also very difficult to increase the collection fee.

However, Mr. Hans Wahl is a very creative and business-minded businessman. He came up with the idea that as long as the German government grants him a business license, he promises to provide free public sanitation services throughout the city of Berlin.

Advertisement on the outside wall of a public toilet in Germany.

The German government found the conditions quite suitable, so they agreed. In 1990, he won the right to operate toilets in the capital Berlin. Other competitors thought this young man was crazy, for free? Based on the way of charging 0.5 euros per person/time, it can be seen that, every hour, Berlin lost 100,000 euros.

So how did Hans Wahl make money? First, he turned the entire bathroom wall into an advertising wall, attracting a wave of big clients, such as Nokia, Apple, Chanel, which surprised everyone.

Second, the toilets have become tourist attractions in the city. As long as you travel to Berlin, you will have a “toilet tour” to admire the new and unique type of public toilets. This is also a way to promote Hans Wahl’s “service”.

Toilets in Germany are even equipped so that players can comfortably play games while... going to the toilet, and you can also use them to watch movies.

Third is issuing coupons. Mr. Hans Wahl cooperates with many restaurants that need to promote their brand. Each person who goes to the restroom will receive a coupon, a food discount program. Take advantage of the connection between the restaurant and the restroom.

Fourth is toilet paper advertising. Ads are printed on toilet paper, with Germans having the habit of reading newspapers in the toilet. You will definitely see ads on the toilet paper in your hand.

Thanks to that, Mr. Hans Wahl's annual profit from advertising is about 753 billion VND. His public toilet business model is also recognized as the most innovative business company. Currently, Mr. Hans Wahl is constantly expanding his business scale and developing to other countries.

Kim Ngoc

(Synthetic)