OPINION
FRANCHISING ASK AN EXPERT:
Franchising opens up spas to a new market – 22 per cent of Massage Envy customers have never had a massage before
Could franchising be the best way to grow your business? We pick the brains of companies which have cracked this model
Kath Hudson, journalist, Spa Business D
elegates at the 2011 Global Spa Summit 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 ses- sion revealed that while franchising is still in an embryonic stage in the spa industry, it’s growing quickly and can be extremely lucrative – US chain Massage Envy, which launched eight years ago, now has network revenue of US$804m (¤602.7m, £504m). 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 US-based Woodhouse Day Spas, Dragonfl y Therapeutic Retreats in China and Malaysia’s Skin Essentials Spas. Another advantage to franchising
is that owner/operators are likely to be more hungry than a general manager, since they have a fi nancial
90 spa business handbook 2012
stake in the business. So they can be great ambassadors for the brand and brilliant at team building. But, could this mean they would
be harder to control than a man- ager? Certainly, in Malaysia and China this would appear to be the case, with franchisees receiving all the business details, but then want- ing to take matters into their own hands or not doing all they can to develop a territory. If it does go ter- ribly wrong, how easy is it to end a franchise agreement? 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 main- taining standards? How do they make sure that therapists stick to treatment protocols and don’t start freestyling with the signa- ture service? In addition, how can a franchisor keep control of an ever growing portfolio? We ask the people on that original
GSS panel, as well as other franchise owners worldwide, about their com- panies and for their advice...
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GOSPHOTODESIGN /
SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
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