Franchsiee Profile: Beth Maynard of Exton, PA

Q: Where are you originally from?
A: I’m from Gainesville, FL, but I moved to Exton, PA eight years ago.

Q: Before Franchising, what were you involved with?
A: I worked in the privatized student housing industry for 21 years. I fell in love with that specific industry because it was always exciting, fast-paced, and interesting to see how different colleges handle the privatized student housing industry. I loved the energy and involvement with the college-aged students. It’s fun to work with students who you are providing their very first housing experience to and the parents who are dealing with letting their children go into the real world for the first time.

Q: How did you learn about the brand?
A: The only other thing I could imagine doing outside of the student housing industry was owning my own spa. However I had no idea there were franchises in the day spa segment out there. I saw this franchise opportunity with Hand & Stone was actually quite shocked. I thought it was perfect because I have no prior experience in the massage industry but Hand & Stone could teach me all I needed to know. In less than 30 days, I signed up as a franchisee.

I have literally no competition in my market and everyone I’m spoken with so far has made me believe that this concept is going to do really well. People want a place to go to and relax, but there’s really nothing in Exton that can provide that experience. This whole process is really exciting because it’s my first time as a business owner. I have loved finding a business that means something to me and taking it through the entire process of getting it up and running. I’m excited to work for myself and expand when the time is right.

Q: Why was this brand the right fit for you?
A: I had always gotten massages to help with stress so I was very interested in massage from a health benefit standpoint. That is what the corporate team is all about. I felt like Hand & Stone was a step above the competition from the look and feel of the spa to my interactions with the corporate team. I feel comfortable that I will be successful as a result of great support I will receive from them.

Q: What are your future goals? Development plans?
A: It’s my goal to own three locations; two in Pennsylvania and one in Florida.

Franchisee Profile: Bonnie Horwith of Allentown, PA

Q: Where are you originally from?
A: I’m from Walnutport, PA, just slightly north of Allentown.

Q: Before Franchising, what were you involved with?
A: I had a long career in the specific sector of gas and chemical manufacturing. For about 28 years, I was in the information technology group of a fortune 500 company. My department got outsourced in April 2010 and from there I spent some time thinking about what I wanted to do next. Initially I began looking for another job in the IT field, but the IT field had taken quit a hit in my area so there wasn’t much career potential. Upon that realization, I revisited an idea of entrepreneurship I’ve had on several occasions but had never pursued.

Q: How did you learn about the brand?
A: I began thinking of businesses I could start myself and searched the Internet for concepts that I thought fit my personality. I thought that was food but I met with a franchise consultant and after talking with him I started learning about other opportunities and that’s when I learned about Hand & Stone. I had thought about owning a spa before, so it was a natural fit.

Q: Why was this brand the right fit for you?
A: I liked everything about Hand & Stone. It’s a refreshing environment, everyone is friendly. The décor relaxes you; it’s a very soothing feeling.
Q: How do you see the brand connecting with your local community?
A: First and foremost, I see Hand & Stone being a destination for residents in Allentown to relax. We really don’t have anything like this in Allentown. That’s why I believe it’s going to be so popular. People are craving this type of service in my area. I’d also like to become involved with some local nonprofit organizations. My goal is to really become a community staple.

Q: What are your future goals? Development plans?
A: My first goal is to open and be profitable, and grow so that employment opportunities can be extended to others in the Lehigh Valley. After that happens, anything is possible.

Hand and Stone featuredin Retail Traffic

Hand & Stone was featured in an article entitled “An Up And Coming Spa Chain Diversifies Its Real Estate Strategy," in Retail Traffic magazine. In the article, Todd Leff discusses the credibility the brand hopes to gain by coupling with the Hyatt and taking advantage of unique real estate opportunities. Todd also discusses the great potential that is currently happening in the spa industry and how the brand continues to find success in retail center locations with well known anchor stores. He also states that there is a similar out-of-the-box real estate development happening for Hand & Stone in Delaware. The article also features Morristown franchisee Alain Goulet and talks about how his past experience with negotiating real estate gave him the ability to help with the leasing process of the location at The Club. The article discusses both Todd and Alain’s excitement with the potential of the location and how Hand & Stone customers of The Club location will benefit from the exception to the rule. Click here to view the full article!

AN UP AND COMING SPA CHAIN DIVERSIFIES ITS REAL ESTATE STRATEGY
By Elaine Mishonzhnike

These days, when a retailer tweaks its real estate strategy, the decision likely is the result of endless hours spent on site selection studies and grueling strategy meetings of its executive board.

Sometimes, however, it’s possible to find a successful strategy by listening to the people who run the operations on the ground.

(Read More)

Hand & Stone Expands Skin Care Service and Products with Dermalogica

Hand in hand with its mission to begin aggressive nationwide expansion, Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa stays at the top of the game by adding not only locations but new products to keep the brand fresh and to give consumers more reasons to keep coming back. Most recently, Hand & Stone began distributing Dermalogica, a 25-year old professional skin care line free of common irritants and ingredients that improves skin health, at its spa locations nationwide.

Hand & Stone researched Dermalogica intensely to ensure it was the right fit to carry at their spas nationwide. What they discovered was a perfect match as both brands were founded on the belief that massage and skin care is not about pampering or luxury, but rather about the health benefits associated with them.

“We had been examining skin care product lines closely for the past several years,” said Todd Leff, CEO of Hand & Stone. “The addition of facials and waxing to the services roster at Hand & Stone as well as growth in massage has boosted the average comparable store sales by over 40 percent during this past year, in a very tough economic environment. We see this category only increasing in years to come and needed the right skin care line for our spas. Dermalogica comprises everything we were looking for.”

Dermalogica has grown to a worldwide brand with a cult-like following among professional skin therapists and consumers alike due to its no-nonsense skin care that helped it grow from a modest store-front in Marina del Rey to today’s 145,000 square foot global headquarters in Carson, California.

Hand & Stone believes that Dermalogica will create exceptional brand awareness for its skin care services including facials and microdermabrasion while its revolutionary hot stone massage therapy is getting consumers in the door and its membership model is keeping them coming back.

While the typical massage client used to have to track down a freelance massage therapist schedule an appointment days in advance, and pay over $100 for a one-hour treatment, most Hand & Stone clients book their appointments on the same day as service and pay 30 percent less than the traditional hourly rate. Better yet, when they sign up for a one-session-per-month plan, they end up paying just $49 per visit.

“We are revolutionizing how consumers approach massage and facial services. Instead of considering them a luxury, we are working to show consumers the health benefits involved, from anti-aging benefits to stress reduction, pain relief and much more,” Leff said.

Massage Industry Poised for Rapid Growth in 2011; Hand & Stone Sets Eye on 40 New Spas

Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa Rub Out the Line Between Health Care and Luxury

When Todd Leff took the reins to fuel growth for Hand & Stone in 2010, he was fast out of the gate. Hand & Stone opened 12 new locations last year and awarded 28 more totaling 40 locations. In 2010, Hand & Stone marked its name across several cities in its home state of New Jersey and entered new territories nationwide including Missouri, California, and Illinois.

In 2011, Hand & Stone is launching an aggressive growth strategy for 40 new locations in accordance with the growing industry. According to the 2010 AMTA Industry Report, massage use among 18-24 year olds has risen to 48%; massage use among older Baby Boomers (ages 55-64) has doubled in the past ten years and use among those older than 65 has tripled during the same time.

Hand & Stone stayed ahead of the curve in 2010 by giving consumers what they want in a massage and facial spa concept including increasing facial and waxing services at their locations. That strategy has proven to be successful, as the average mature store sales have boosted by over 29 percent in 2010, in a very tough economic environment.

While consumers are relaxed, even de-stressed by the mainstreaming of massage, Hand & Stone is taking this change to the bank. Launched in 2005 by John Marco, a physical therapist with 20 years of experience, Hand & Stone says its mission is to bring massage therapy to the masses. Clients enjoy the treatment, but "most aren't just coming for the indulgence," said Todd Leff, chief executive and president of Hand & Stone. "They're coming for stress reduction and pain relief, and many on the suggestion of their doctors."

While the typical massage client used to have to track down a freelance massage therapist, schedule an appointment days in advance, and pay over $100 for a one-hour treatment, most Hand & Stone clients book their appointments on the same day as service and pay 30 percent less than the traditional hourly rate. Better yet, when they sign up for a one-session-per-month plan, they end up paying just $49 per visit.

The average customer isn't a wealthy socialite with nothing better to do, she's a 42-year-old female with an annual household income of $65,000, has children and loves to shop at Target and Kohls. With that busy, overscheduled lifestyle it’s not surprising that the number one reason clients visit Hand and Stone is for stress reduction. Hand & Stone's clientele is roughly 70 percent female, 30 percent male, with an increasing number of male patrons.

Todd Leff, 51, invested in and became president of Hand & Stone in July of 2009 after a brief attempt at retirement. Having worked in franchising for over 20 years, first growing Cottman Transmission, then leading the merger between Cottman and its main rival, AAMCO, Leff sold his stake in the then 1,100-unit franchise and decided to play golf and relish in his success. That lasted all of three months before he was itching to get back in the game.

"I started looking for a young franchise in an industry that had tailwinds," says Leff. "I figured I could build a management team, implement some larger company processes and take it to the next level."

Leff expects to sign another 50 new franchisees to the Hand & Stone system this year, each one investing a total of around $325,000, including franchise fees, to outfit a suburban, strip-mall location with space for at least 10 massage rooms.

"Most of our franchisees have no massage experience, they are just business people who understand that this industry is ripe for growth and love the fact that we are providing a positive health related service," Leff said. "Twenty-two percent of Americans got a massage last year, and that figure is growing. As massage becomes a more integrated part of health care, we see this business achieving even wider-spread growth and longevity."

Hand & Stone Featured in Burlington County Times

Hand & Stone was recently featured in an article called “New Hands-On Career” in the Burlington County Times. It discusses Kathleen’s entrepreneurial story, then moves to the Vicarios having a location in Burlington County as well and being integral in helping Kathleen get her location up and running and then progresses to quoting Todd about why the business works. The article also uses statistics from the AMA to make a claim that this is an industry that is booming. Check out a portion of the story below or read the full article here.

New hands-on career

Kathleen Edwards has already had two fulfilling careers: first as banker and then as teacher.

Now Edwards, a Mullica Hill resident, has started a third career with the purchase of a Hand & Stone franchise.

Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa is a New Jersey-based company that focuses on the health-care benefits of massage and skin care.

"The franchise is popular and it was a perfect fit for me," said the new entrepreneur who opened the Hand & Stone at the Hartford Corners shopping center on Route 130 in Delran earlier this month. It is the second such outlet in the county. There are 12 either open or planned in New Jersey. (Read More)

Hand & Stone Founder John Marco interviewed by Advcance for Physical Therapy and Rehab Medicine

Hand & Stone was recently featured in Advance for Physical Therapy & Rehab Medicine in an article called “Five Questions with John Marco.” The article discusses how Founder of Hand & Stone, John Marco utilized his background as a physical therapist to create and grow Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa. John speaks about massage therapy being extremely beneficial for health reasons but lacking in accessibility and affordability, which ultimately gave him the idea to create the concept, Hand & Stone. Read a portion of the story below or check out the full article here:

5 Questions With: John Marco
by Jonathan Bassett

As awareness of the health benefits of massage continues to rise, massage therapy is no longer considered a luxury item. It's become a lifestyle choice for those seeking longevity and wellness.

With corporate offices in Hamilton, NJ, Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa has grown to incorporate 35 franchise locations across 11 states and in Canada. In 2005, company founder and COO John Marco leveraged a 25-year career in physical therapy to establish a unique business model that allows clients to schedule an appointment on the day of service, rather than tracking down a freelance massage therapist and waiting days or weeks for an appointment. Membership rates mean clients pay far less than traditional hourly rates.

In this interview with ADVANCE, Marco discusses his 25-year physical therapy career, how the idea of his business came about, and what's next for Hand & Stone.

ADVANCE: How did you get your start in physical therapy?

Marco: In 1977 I volunteered as a physical therapy aide in a rehabilitation hospital in Toms River, NJ. Within a few weeks a job opening became available for a PT aide position, and I took it. It didn't take long for me to see that some very special things were being done right before my eyes. I was hooked on a healing profession. I was hooked on physical therapy. (Read More)