TREVOSE, PA (May 8, 2024) — Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa, the nation's leading luxury massage and facial spa franchise, announced today the brand’s significant achievements thus far in 2024. Building on a year of strong growth, the momentum has continued seamlessly, due in large part to strategic initiatives focused on enhancing franchise owner success and driving increased client memberships year-over-year, setting the stage for continued success and additional ownership opportunities.
"Year to date, Hand & Stone's franchise system has accomplished remarkable results," stated Jennifer Durham, Chief Development Officer at Hand & Stone. "We're approaching 600,000 total members which marks significant growth over the prior year. While our memberships and spa counts grow, our revenue logically follows. Our membership model drives results for members while creating a growing revenue and profit stream for our franchise owners. These results underscore how our brand strategy continues to drive owner success and sustains our leadership in the health and wellness category.”
Hand & Stone also introduced a centralized compliance platform with Woven. This tool allows the compliance team and Franchise Operations Consultants to focus on assisting spa management in growing revenue while simultaneously growing spa memberships. To further this effort, the Training and Operations teams have led a nationwide training blitz, with every spa receiving personalized onsite front desk training to boost membership sales. Finally, the post-service client survey was enhanced to allow us measurement of the efficacy of front desk staff when presenting the details of our membership program.
In addition to revenue and member growth, one of the brand’s key strategic objectives for 2024 is enhancing spa profitability. In Q1 Hand & Stone initiated a benchmarking pilot in partnership with Profit Keeper to gain valuable insights into bottom-line performance, facilitating informed decision-making and operational optimization. Additionally, Hand & Stone launched a systemwide initiative to cross-functionally identify spend categories for efficiencies and cost savings. These initiatives reflect the brand's dedication to maximizing profitability while upholding service excellence, establishing a strong financial footing for franchise owners and ensuring sustained growth for the brand.
Along with ongoing profitability improvements, Hand & Stone has also made improvements to reduce the cost associated with building a new spa. The brand engaged CBRE to support the team’s continuous value engineering efforts to improve franchise owners return on investment. In Q1 the brand made several design adaptations and welcomed new manufacturers that led to significant reduction on buildout costs by $10-$50 thousand per spa. Improving ROI leads to existing owner expansion and Hand & Stone is proud to report that 57% of the development pipeline is with existing franchise owners. Further, existing franchise owners are also leveraging spa resales for their expansion, growing their multi-unit ownership and creating efficiencies between spas. As existing franchisees grow, they demonstrate their confidence in the continued success of Hand & Stone.
Hand & Stone has also seen tangible results across their service offerings making significant improvement in available massage therapist hours compared to the previous year with a goal of 10% increase in hours for 2024. In a challenging labor environment, the strategic focus on expanding service offerings and increasing hours has not only created more appointment opportunities but has also benefited both existing members and new guests. Furthermore, the brand’s partnership with MPower has brought even more skilled service providers into Hand & Stone spas, creating more opportunity for aspiring massage therapists to create a viable career path in an in-demand industry.
In response to customer requests and the growing demand for advanced esthetics, Hand & Stone plans to launch a pilot of Dermaplaning services in 25 locations this July. This strategic move aligns with the popularity of treatments like Diamondglow, Dermalogica Nanoinfusion, and Cryo Toning Facials, which have seen significant traction in the first quarter as customers increasingly seek enhanced results in the treatment room. Additionally, the brand is witnessing sustained growth in body contouring services, now rebranded as NEVESKIN (formerly known as Cryoskin). Notably, a clinical study conducted by Artemis, the distributor of NEVESKIN, demonstrated significant circumference reduction in treated areas. On average, participants experienced a reduction of 1.9 inches from the abdomen and 2 inches from each thigh, alongside improvements in tightness, firmness, and tone. These findings demonstrate the brand’s focus on ensuring services drive meaningful results.
This data was taken from a study performed by the Cutest LTD CRO in which 100 participants received 5-10 treatments.
In addition to the many achievements noted above, Hand & Stone also appointed a new Chief Financial Officer, Chris Laws. With a robust background in finance and operations across various industries, Laws brings invaluable expertise to the Hand & Stone leadership team, focusing on financial planning and ensuring a compelling investment and return for franchise owners.
"It’s an exciting time for me to join Hand & Stone as the brand approaches its 20th anniversary this year," said Chris Laws, Chief Financial Officer at Hand & Stone. "The brand has shown continuous growth over the last two decades and this milestone presents a prime opportunity to explore the benefits of investing, offering new and existing owners even more reasons to help expand Hand & Stone’s footprint. Our success at the start of 2024 is only a preview of what’s to come and I look forward to working with the executive team to move the brand toward even further growth.”
The brand has also expanded its corporate team with nine new hires across various departments in its real estate and technology teams. This strategic expansion reflects the brand’s continued growth, bolstering credibility and demonstrating an ongoing commitment to attracting new talent.
With so many reasons to believe in Hand & Stone, as highlighted by the brand’s early 2024 success, the brand invites entrepreneurs to explore the benefits of ownership, which include continuous growth in the $1.8 trillion wellness industry with a membership driven business focused on franchise owner profitability with a unique opportunity to make an impact on local communities and much more. Major markets with ample growth opportunities are available in cities such as Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Boston, and Atlanta. For more information about franchise opportunities with Hand & Stone, please visit www.handandstonefranchise.com.
ABOUT HAND & STONE MASSAGE AND FACIAL SPA
Hand & Stone is a more than 600-unit massage and facial spa franchise with a mission to deliver premium spa services to the middle market in a professional, affordable, and convenient manner. Launched in 2004, Hand & Stone now has locations across 36 states and Canada. Each spa features best-in-class massage and skincare treatments. Available for women, men and teens, a wide range of services are tailored to each individual's needs or skin concerns. Hand & Stone facial treatments are performed by licensed estheticians, using top-of-the-line products backed by science including Dermalogica, IMAGE Skincare and ClarityRx Clinical Skin Care. The fastest-growing spa franchise in the country, Hand & Stone has been named No. 1 in the spa category by Entrepreneur Magazine in 2023, 2021 and 2020 and was ranked No. 8 on Forbes' Best Franchises to Buy list in the high investment category. For more information, visit www.handandstonefranchise.com.
