An Arizona-based chain of massage-therapy clinics is expanding in Colorado with the aim of winning customers through a monthly membership plan similar to those of some health clubs.
Massage Envy recently opened its third franchised clinic in Colorado at South University Boulevard and East Dry Creek Road in Centennial. The Scottsdale company, which opened its first clinic in the state a year ago, intends to open nearly a dozen more by the end of the year and could have as many as 30 in the state within four years, said Larry Reiff, Massage Envy’s regional franchise developer in Colorado.
“The concept is to take massage out of the elite realm and make it available to everyone,” Reiff said.
The company sells monthly memberships for $49, which includes one massage, with additional massages in the same month costing $39. Clients who buy 12 months upfront get a 10 percent discount. Members can visit any Massage Envy clinic in the U.S.
Maureen Moon, a Boulder massage therapist and past president of the American Massage Therapy Association, estimates that one-hour massages average $60 to $65 in the Denver area. She excluded spas from her calculation.
The massage industry is growing as more Americans turn to the practice for medical reasons, relaxation and stress relief. Massage therapy is a $6 billion to $11 billion business, according to the massage-therapy group.
About 47 million Americans got massages between August 2004 and last July – an increase of 2 million from the previous year, the Evanston, Ill.-based association said.
“It’s stress, plain and simple,” that is causing the industry to grow so quickly, said association president Mary Beth Braun, who owns a massage clinic in Indianapolis.
Massage Envy founder and chief executive John Leonesio launched the company in 2002 after spending his career in the health-club industry. While developing two health-club chains, which he later sold to Bally’s and to 24-Hour Fitness, Leonesio discovered that massage therapy was the fastest- growing segment of secondary services offered within clubs.
Since he opened his first Massage Envy clinic, the company has grown to 76 clinics in 15 states.
“It wasn’t our intention to franchise, but after we opened, people came to us and asked how they could open (a clinic),” Leonesio said.
The company charges franchisees $39,000 for the first location and $29,000 for additional ones. Franchisees also pay 5 percent royalties and another 1 percent toward a marketing fund.
Including location, equipment and buildout, opening a clinic in Colorado can cost between $250,000 and $300,000, Reiff estimated.
Since he opened the state’s first Massage Envy clinic in Highlands Ranch, Reiff has signed up 1,000 clients and is recruiting about 100 more a month.
Cynthia Hinckley, a former employee of the J.D. Edwards software company (now part of Oracle), owns the Centennial franchise, which quietly opened days before Christmas. So far, she has had 100 people sign up for memberships.
Massage therapy is a fragmented industry that largely consists of independent therapists working at spas, health clubs, independent clinics or home. Sole practitioners or partners in their own businesses make up 72 percent of the industry, according to the association.
Massage Envy is the first company to attempt to franchise massage clinics on a national level, although smaller regional players are beginning to emerge as well, experts say.
“As the industry gets more popular, it was just a matter of time before the business types found it,” said Susan Jackson Grubb, owner of Center for Neuromuscular Massage Therapy Inc. in Cherry Creek.
Some local massage therapists commended the company’s business plan for making massage available to more people at a lower price. They also said the company could probably provide a good opportunity for new-to-the-business massage therapists looking for a way to get into the market. A few, however, expressed concern about the company’s prices.
“I’m afraid people will go with the cheaper price rather than the quality massage,” Grubb said.
Reiff said that despite the lower prices, the company offers the same quality as higher-priced locations.
Reiff said Massage Envy therapists include a mix of recent massage-school graduates and experienced therapists. Therapists are paid either minimum wage or on a per-massage basis – whichever is more – and don’t have to worry about marketing or equipment costs.
Staff writer Kristi Arellano can be reached at 303-820-1902 or karellano@denverpost.com.
