Accessible luxurious spa experiences have proven to be necessities for customers who are seeking holistic self-care wellness solutions to various stressors in their lives. These wellness-service tenants attract not just well-to-do Generation X and baby boomer women but are also sought after by millennials who are more open to alternative health solutions. These facial/massage venues are positioned as affordable sanctuaries for stressed out customers, generally women in the 18- to 45-year-old age range, who want to experience relaxation bells and whistles without the expense of an overnight spa vacation. Look for co-tenants to not only include health and wellness staples, such as fitness centers, chiropractic services and healthy dining brands, but also errand-heavy tenants, including upscale grocery stores, drug stores and coffee houses. The goal of many of these facial/massage brands is to make these luxury services more accessible to all, hence the neighborhood grocery-anchored locations. Watch for Heyday, MassageLuXe, Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa, Elements Massage and Face Foundrie to all embark on nationwide expansion.
The Heyday brand expects to open between 50 and 60 new units per year over the next five years. Look for the franchise to target the top 50 MSAs, including opening additional units in New York City, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia. Also, look for expansion into Chicago, Dallas, Austin, Houston, Cleveland and Boston, in addition to growth into markets such as Miami, Atlanta, Denver, Phoenix, Seattle and San Francisco. The chain received $20M in Series B funding in February in order to kick-start its expansion goals. Investors include Level 5 Capital Partners, the team behind such popular brands as Orangetheory Fitness, CorePower Yoga and Big Blue Swim School, as well as additional backing by venture capital firms Fifth Wall and Lerer Hippeau. Heyday expects to target the millennial and Generation Z audience by locating their 1,500- to 3,000-s.f. units in lifestyle centers and high-traffic street-front retail, including ground-floor sites of mixed-use spaces. Preferred co-tenants include non-competing health, fitness and beauty brands, such as Equinox and Madison Reed, and healthier-based food tenants, such as Nekter Juice Bar. Heyday’s goal is to make its facial services convenient and easily accessible to all — including men and younger customers — at cheaper price points than what upscale spas charge.
The luxury-focused MassageLuXe franchise expects to open between 35 and 45 new units per year over the next five years. The brand hired a new chief growth officer last year to facilitate its growth. The chain is especially targeting suburban locations experiencing population growth within major metropolitan areas, primarily Texas and Ohio, for immediate expansion, with MassageLuXe anticipating opening at least 20 new units in each of those states. Its units, which tend to be inline or end cap spaces in the 2,200- to 3,500-s.f. Range, are in upscale power centers, grocery-anchored spaces, strip malls and ground-floor mixed-use spaces in affluent suburbs. Ideal co-tenants include fitness and health service brands, such as CycleBar, Clean Juice and Pearle Vision, as well as beauty service tenants, including Amazing Lash Studio. MassageLuXe, which provides spa memberships, offers therapeutic services such as deep tissue massage and Swedish massage, as well as massage specialties, including reflexology and hot stone. Facials and waxing are also offered.
Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa anticipates opening between 25 and 30 new units per year over the next two years. Look for the metro and suburbs of Birmingham, Ala., and Columbus, Ohio, to be targeted for immediate growth, followed by Hand & Stone eyeing territories in Cleveland, Boston, Minneapolis, Kansas City, Kan., St. Louis, Baltimore, Hartford, Conn., Salt Lake City and San Diego. The facial/massage brand seeks inline and end cap space between 2,400 and 4,000 s.f. in neighborhood strip malls and grocery-anchored power centers in both middle market and more upscale, higher-end communities. Preferred co-tenants include ULTA Beauty, Trader Joe’s and Big 5 Sporting Goods. The massage/facial franchise has a membership format, which guarantees recurring monthly revenue, and its brand-name products used for facial services are sold in-store. Hand & Stone specializes in affordably priced luxurious 60-minute spa services (skincare, massage and waxing) in convenient locations.
Elements Massage anticipates opening up 20 to 25 new units per year over the next three years, with immediate concentration on the communities in and around San Francisco and Sacramento, Calif., in addition to continued growth in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., Hillsboro, Ore., Detroit and Central Florida. From 2023 onward, look for Elements to target further expansion into Georgia, North Carolina, Maryland, Michigan, Indiana and Ohio. The massage-only franchise seeks space in the 1,200- to 2,000-s.f. range in outdoor lifestyle centers and power centers with heavy weekend foot traffic, within residential urban and suburban neighborhoods in close proximity to offices. Downtown retail street locations will also be considered. Co-tenants should include “daily routine” brands, such as Starbucks, 24 Hour Fitness and Sprouts Farmers Market.
Elements Massage provides premium personalized therapeutic massage in a no-frills setting, along with membership deals, for services such as relief from back pain and neck pain, as well as overall stress reduction.
Face Foundrie, which began franchising its facial service concept in January, expects to open up to 12 units before the end of 2021, followed by 15 to 20 units per year from 2022 until the end of 2024. With 55 franchise deals already signed, the facial company will be opening locations in Chicago, Appleton, Wis., Fargo and Sioux Falls, N.D., Phoenix and Naples, Fla., by the end of this year. Continued expansion will occur throughout Minnesota’s Twin Cities, and the brand is also anticipating further expansion into Denver, Nashville, Scottsdale, Ariz., Houston and markets throughout New Jersey and Florida. Though flexible with its retail space, Face Foundrie prefers inline or end cap units in the 1,500- to 2,000-s.f. range within upscale lifestyle centers, strip malls, power centers or grocery-anchored centers. Space should be in mid- to upper-income communities with a large number of college-educated consumers, in both large metropolitan areas and smaller cities alike.
Preferred co-tenants include health-focused, fast-casual restaurants, such as Cava Grill, as well as upscale fitness brands, such as Orangetheory Fitness, and female-centric retailers, including Lush. Face Foundrie specializes in time-conscious facial services — including lash extensions, facial waxing and cryotherapy — that last between 20 and 40 minutes and are priced in the $45 to $65 range. Memberships are also available.
