MARCELA RIOS GARY / SAN ANTONIO BUSINESS JOURNAL Glenn Franson, president and CEO of locally based Massage Heights, hopes to have more than 1,600 storefronts open for business over the next five years.

A locally based massage-therapy business is on course to building a national franchise that reaches across the country.

Last April, San Antonio-based Massage Heights announced that the company would be launching a national franchise program -- for the purpose of growing the massage business beyond its hometown borders.

To date, the company has 23 facilities in four states open for business.

And a lot more are on the way.

Over that same 13 months, Massage Heights also has signed commitments with 17 regional franchise developers. Between these individuals, plans call for a total of 780 new massage facilities over the next five years, according to Glenn Franson, president and CEO of Massage Heights.

Those 780 store commitments put Franson's company on track toward the firm's ultimate goal: To have 1,620 stores up and running throughout the United States by 2013.

Each regional developer is contractually obligated to open several new locations, an average of 22 facilities, over the next five years, Franson adds. That roll-out can include the developers opening the stores themselves or selling franchises within their regions.

Massage therapy itself is not a new concept. What makes Massage Heights unique is its uniform approach to the service, Franson says.

"There's no brand leader. The industry is ripe for (the Massage Heights model)," he adds.

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The chain model behind Massage Heights, Franson explains, offers customers the security of knowing they can expect the same level of quality service at each location.

The company's facilities range in size from 1,800 to 2,400 square feet. That small footprint makes for a more relaxing environment for the customer, Franson says.

Massage Heights is a membership-based organization, with monthly rates ranging from $49 to $79, which includes one complimentary massage each month. Thereafter, massage services start at about $40 per one-hour session.

First-time customers can also get a massage at the $40 membership rate. After that, should they opt to not become a member, the cost for a one-hour massage is $80.

By comparison, a one-hour massage at other facilities can average anywhere from $65 to $100, Franson says. The monthly membership agreements allow Massage Heights to provide discounted treatments. Memberships, he adds, are honored at all Massage Heights locations.

"There's a lot of value built in (with Massage Heights)," says Franson, who adds that these days, massage therapy has less to do with people pampering themselves and more about relieving pain and stress.

"We appeal to people seeking to relieve anxiety or stress or back or muscle pain issues, or just about anybody who previously didn't get massages because they felt it was cost-prohibitive... ," adds Shane Evans, Franson's sister and co-founder of Massage Heights. Her husband, Wayne Evans, is also a partner in Massage Heights.

The regimen seems to be working. For 2007, Massage Heights boasted revenues of more than $7 million -- up from $3 million in 2006, Franson reports.

And things are only going to get better.

Of the 54 new markets that Massage Heights has identified, 26 have been optioned to regional developers.

"We are poised," he adds, "to be the leader in the therapeutic massage industry."

Massage Heights at a glance

• First facility opened in San Antonio in 2004; to date, there are 10 Massage Heights locations in San Antonio, with two more stores set to open within the next 30 days
• Currently has 23 stores in four states; national franchise plans calls for 1,620 units in the U.S. and Canada
• Franchise facts: One-time fee of $42,000; cost to open a location, between $163,000 to $352,000 -- depending on the market
• www.massageheights.com

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