Chain REACTION | Pocketmags.com

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Chain REACTION

Franchising is worth £15 billion a year to the UK economy. A report by the British Franchise Association (BFA) and Natwest showed that, last year, there were 44,200 franchisee-owned businesses in the UK, employing 621,000 people.

However, the business model has historically struggled to find success in the beauty sector, with many operations launching but very few gaining traction – until now. Recently, a number of concepts have been launched by people with significant industry experience and are now making a serious bid to grow lucrative franchise chains.

Such innovators include EF Medispa, a market leader in aesthetics, and The Massage Company, headed up by Elliot Walker and Charlie Thompson, who launched the sort of membership-based massage franchise salon model that’s been taking the US by storm. “In the UK there is a large number of individual operators and this mirrors the US market 15 years ago,” says Walker. Since then, massage therapy and spa franchises have been among the fastest growing sectors in franchising in the US. In 2017, there were more than 2,000 massage therapy and spa franchised locations in the US servicing millions of consumers on a monthly basis.

In addition, following success in France, skincare brand Guinot rolled out its franchise opportunity in the UK in 2012, after piloting the model in its company-owned Ascot salon in 2011. Currently, it has seven franchisees operating in the UK.

But alongside the pros of joining a franchise network with an established brand, business plan and ongoing support, salon and clinic owners have often expressed concerns about the potential cons – namely the surrendering of control, the fear that becoming part of a chain means losing that personal touch, and how profit sharing will work. We asked three franchisees to share their journeys.

This article appears in Mar-18

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Mar-18
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