top
team
Success story: Reasonable prices and top quality
treatments have led to a loyal customer base
LOCAL LUXURY
Bargain prices and a strong local following have ensured that a public sector spa created in a deprived area has enjoyed great success. Three of the team involved in Inside Spa tell Julie Cramer how the concept has grown
A
s one of England’s most deprived wards, Pendle in Lancashire has more than its fair share of socio-economic
challenges, including widespread health inequalities, inferior housing, high unemployment and low educational attainment. It may not be an obvious choice as the place to open a high quality spa aimed at attracting a wide range of residents. Yet this was the ambitious vision of Pendle leisure chiefs and, in July 2007, the Inside Spa and fi tness complex opened at the Pendle Wavelengths leisure centre in Nelson with £1m of
Hotting up: Inside Spa offers a wide range of heat experiences
Single Regeneration Budget (SRB) funding from Pendle Council and £2m from operational partners Alliance Leisure. From the outset, the facility was
marketed as “a luxury experience at pocket money prices”, with a two-hour spa experience including lunch priced at just £22.50 and aromatherapy massages starting from £25. As the business has grown, prices have been kept competitively low to make the facility accessible to lower income groups – indeed, SRB funding required Inside Spa to target traditionally hard-to-reach groups such as low-earners and ethnic
INSIDE SPA CUSTOMER PROFILE
● Customers living within 10 miles of the spa – 76 per cent
● Clients are 77 per cent female and 23 per cent male
● Age profile: • Under 20s – 3 per cent (minimum age 16 years, or 14 if accompanied by an adult) • 20- to 30-year-olds – 30 per cent • 30- to 40-year-olds – 24 per cent • 40- to 50-year-olds – 20 per cent • 50- to 60-year-olds – 14 per cent • Over-60s – 9 per cent
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HEALTH CLUB SPA
minority groups, with inclusive pricing and marketing strategies. The public response has been so
great that Pendle Leisure Trust has just spearheaded a £220,000 extension of the spa facility to meet customer demand. The expansion, which opened in March 2011, includes four new treatment rooms, a relaxation room, new manicure and pedicure bays in the main reception and increased seating areas for pamper days. These build on the existing facilities
which consist of a sauna, sanarium, salt inhalation and steam room, aromatherapy room, hydrotherapy pool, monsoon shower, ice fountain and rasul mud bath. Revenues have shown healthy growth.
From April 2008 to March 2009, Inside Spa generated an income of £245,000, which rose by 28 per cent in the following year to £315,000. From April 2010 to March 2011 revenues grew at a slower rate of 9 per cent, reaching £344,000. The trust puts this slower growth down to the overall economic climate, but says the management is confi dent that its new expansion will continue to attract new customers and drive business well into the future. Here, three key players in Inside Spa’s
success discuss their role in the running and development of the project.
august 2011 © cybertrek 2011
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