There has been an uptick of real estate growth for laser beauty treatment services. This may be because while women — and, increasingly, men — still want to maintain a youthful appearance as they age, they are now becoming wary of spending excess money on more extreme, permanent procedures, whether that is plastic surgery or electrolysis. The idea of a non-invasive procedure that utilizes the latest in laser technology is a welcome solution for today’s discerning beauty customer.
Laser services traditionally were only in medical clinic facilities to remedy serious issues such as permanent scars or burns. Today’s laser treatment centers, however, can now be found in conveniently located retail centers, allowing customers to easily access beauty-oriented laser procedures such as skin rejuvenation, as well as the removal of wrinkles, unwanted hair and excess fat via laser body contouring. These laser treatment facilities are especially effective in mid- to upscale suburban settings with nearby office parks. Strip centers, power centers and grocery-anchored centers will be targeted. Preferred co-tenants for these types of establishments include brands that women frequent, such grocery stores, big-box clothing tenants and brunch-oriented coffeehouses. Notable laser treatment brands currently in expansion mode include Milan Laser, LaserAway, Chapter Aesthetic Studio, Ideal Image and Skin Laundry.
Milan Laser is on track to continue opening new units at a rate of about 30 to 35 per year over the next two to three years. Look for more units to pop up in Western states where the brand is still underrepresented, including in California, Arizona and Utah, as well as in Indiana. Milan Laser seeks inline or end cap spaces between 1,300 and 2,000 s.f., in strip centers in suburban regions of major metros and mid-sized to tertiary markets. Co-tenants should be other beauty service or health and wellness brands that tend to attract the millennial and Generation X audience, such as ATI Physical Therapy, Amazing Lash Studio or F45. Milan Laser specializes in laser hair removal for both men and women in all body areas.
LaserAway expects to open at least 20 to 25 new units per year over the next two years. The brand is steadily opening new units in all U.S. markets, aided in part to an investment last October by Ares Management Corporation, a private equity group. Expect LaserAway to continue expanding into states where it recently opened its first studios within the last year, including the metros of Washington, Georgia, Massachusetts, Virginia, Idaho, Colorado and Kansas. Secondary markets in all of California, Texas, Florida and Arizona will also be sought after for growth. LaserAway seeks units between 1,250 and 1,600 s.f. in all manner of retail spaces, such as neighborhood power centers, strip malls, grocery-anchored centers and lifestyle centers in more upscale suburban communities in close proximity to business parks. Urban street-front units, including ground-floor spaces in mixed-use office and luxury apartment developments, will also be targeted. Ideal co-tenants include upscale errand brands, such as Whole Foods Market and Starbucks, and brunch-themed restaurants, such as Snooze, an A.M. Eatery. LaserAway provides not just laser hair removal, but also laser tattoo removal, laser facials, Botox injections and body contouring.
Chapter Aesthetic Studio has a goal of opening between 15 and 24 new units in 2024. The brand’s more immediate growth plans are to open 10 units this year and 15 units in 2023. Chapter expects even more growth in 2025 and beyond as a result of its partnership with the Aspen Medical Group, the parent company of Aspen Dental, which already has a strong development team in place. Immediate expansion will take place
in secondary, tertiary and medium-sized markets that have limited high-quality medical aesthetics options available, especially in Minnesota, Iowa, South Dakota, New York and Wisconsin. Beyond that, Chapter will target similar markets in the Southeast.
Chapter seeks space in the 3,500-s.f. ballpark for its studios, zeroing in on freestanding or end cap street-front pad sites in neighborhood retail centers in regional trade areas that attract a demographic of women between the ages of 35 and 55. Preferred co-tenants include daily living anchors, such as Target or PetSmart. Chapter Aesthetic Studio provides non-surgical and cosmetic treatments to men and women of all ages, such as laser skin and body procedures, as well as injectables.
Ideal Image expects to open between 10 and 15 new units per year over the next two years and is especially focused on further growing its brand in states where it does not yet have a large presence, including Illinois, Northern and Southern California, Utah, Idaho and Virginia. All regions in these states will be considered — from large metros to more tertiary and secondary markets — as Ideal Image sees itself as a more accessible and affordable option for those seeking laser beauty treatments. Ideal square footage is in the 2,000 to 4,500 range, preferably an end cap in outdoor malls and strip centers, with beauty and health-oriented co-tenants such as Madison Reed, Orangetheory Fitness and CycleBar, as well as breakfast/brunch-type tenants, such as Peet’s Coffee & Tea. Ideal Image, which has been consciously offering more skin treatments at cheaper price points than its competitors in order to appeal to a larger market segment, offers services such as Botox, laser hair removal, skin rejuvenation and body sculpting.
Skin Laundry hopes to open approximately 10 new units per year over the next two years. Expansion will take place in high-end metros near upscale residences, including near mixed-use luxury office/retail developments, in new states such as Massachusetts, specifically in Boston, as well as Colorado and Texas. Growth will also take place in the new market of Northern California’s San Francisco Bay Area, as well as the greater New York City MSA. Preferred sites are upscale Class A outdoor shopping malls or lifestyle centers, as well as street-front retail, with higher end co-tenants that attract female shoppers, such as Saks Fifth Avenue, Williams-Sonoma and Lululemon. Skin Laundry, which sells its own line of skin care products in its clinics, as well as in Nordstrom, offers 15- to 30-minute facials utilizing cutting-edge laser technology that rejuvenates skin cells.
