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Success is in couple's grasp
San Antonio Express News business article - January 11, 2007
Melissa S. Monroe - Express-News Business Writer
Starting a business involves taking risk and having the right product.
Shane and Wayne B. Evans didn't have any doubts about their concept when they started Massage Heights in Alamo Heights in 2004. Their store combined massages with monthly memberships, making the massages more affordable.
(William Luther/Express-News)
Massage Heights member Donna Martel gets a massage from licensed massage therapist Teri Terranova.
The San Antonio couple has since sold seven more franchises here, with another three planned to open this year. In the Austin area, there are four Massage Heights and two more planned.
What's interesting about the concept, said Shane Evans, is that no one massage company has the market covered.
Massage Heights stores, she added, are like nail salons because customers can walk in and get affordable service without booking in advance.
And with just 11 stores, Massage Heights is ready to go nationwide with the goal of having 1,000 franchises in five years.
W.S. Evans Enterprises, the franchisor of Massage Heights, is working with a broker to develop and sell master franchises in major cities.
"This way we can grow rapidly instead of us trying to sell in New York, Minnesota and individual states," said Wayne Evans. "Our franchise broker tells us they can sell the concept in less than 24 months because it's a hot concept."
If successful, Massage Heights would be among just a handful of San Antonio-based companies that started here and were franchised to other states. Some of those names are Church's Chicken, Taco Cabana and La Quinta hotels.
Still, success didn't happen overnight for the Evanses. They dipped into stock options and 401(k) plans to open their first store with about $50,000. The small shop has just five massage rooms, compared with the 10 rooms each shop has now.
Wayne also gave up a 14-year career with Bally Total Fitness and Shane came from the medical sales and marketing field.
In spite of the risk, the Evanses may have found their pot of gold. The American Massage Therapy Association said 39 million adults receive some form of massage therapy annually, translating to $6 billion to $11 billion a year. Massage Heights sells monthly memberships for $49.99, which include a one-hour massage and more massages at discounted prices. Unlike resorts or day spas, Massage Heights is open daily and offers strictly massages.
Each business employs about 25 therapists, with many of them working full time and receiving benefits Ñ not the norm for massage therapists.
The goal of each store is to have 1,000 members and do 1,200 to 1,500 massages a month.
With virtually no money spent on franchise marketing, the interest in this concept is huge, said Glenn Franson, Massage Heights' director of franchise development.
Getting to 1,000 locations is not just a hope, Franson said. "The reality is, we are going to be blowing up quickly."
Franchise businesses within the health industry that cater to baby boomers are growing popular, said Terry Hill, spokesman for the International Franchise Association in Washington, D.C.
For example, he said, Curves fitness franchise started out as a small business in 1992 and now has about 10,000 locations.
Older consumers have been among the main customers so far for Massage Envy, which recently opened here and has the same concept as Massage Heights.
Based in Scottsdale, Ariz., Massage Envy has 157 clinics in 30 states, with 277 more in development. It also plans 10 to12 stores here, said Michael Kane, co-owner of the Massage Envy at 19178 Blanco Road.
Opening in mid-November, Kane said he thought his main clientele would be housewives with kids, but it has turned out to be older people with aches and pains.
San Antonians are realizing that massages can be used to treat pain symptoms without going through the medical red tape, he said.
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