OPINION
KATH HUDSON » JOURNALIST » SPA BUSINESS
Dragonfl y has 21 franchise spas in China and aims to have up to 80 within fi ve years
FRANCHISING ASK AN EXPERT...
Delegates at this year’s Global Spa Sum- mit (see p38) were gripped by a panel session which highlighted franchising as a new model for spa businesses. Set up and delivered by GSS board
member Pete Ellis, the session revealed that while franchising is still in an embryonic stage in the spa industry, it is growing quickly and can be extremely lucra- tive. CG Funk, VP of industry relations and product development for Massage Envy – a US chain which launched eight years ago – said that her business had a network revenue of us$652m (€464m, £406m). As an estab- lished brand, it also attracts a wider audience compared to most other spas – 22 per cent of Massage Envy’s clients, for example, have never had a massage before. Other expanding spa franchise chains represented on the panel included Wood-
Could franchising be the best way to grow your business?
We pick the brains of companies which have cracked this model
house Day Spas – also from the US
– Dragonfl y T erapeutic Retreats based in China and Malaysia’s Skin Essentials Spas. Another advantage to franchising is that
owner/operators are likely to be more hun- gry than a general manager, since they have a fi nancial stake in the business. So they can be great ambassadors for the brand and bril- liant at building and motivating a team. But, could this mean they would be harder
to control than a manager? Certainly, in Malaysia and China this would appear to be
22 Read Spa Business online
spabusiness.com / digital
the case, with franchisees receiving all the business details, but then wanting to take matters into their own hands or not doing all they can to develop a territory. If it does go terribly wrong, how easy is it to end a franchise agreement? And what kind of paperwork and legalities should be drawn up in the fi rst place?
Also, is it a gamble to leave your brand
reputation in someone else’s hands? How do franchisors retain control and ensure franchisees are upkeeping the brand and maintaining standards? How do they make sure that therapists stick to treat- ment protocols and don’t start freestyling with the signature service? In addition, how can franchisor keep control of an ever growing portfolio? We ask the people on that original GSS panel about their companies and advice...
SPA BUSINESS 3 2011 ©Cybertrek 2011
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