EASING PAIN, ENSURING PROFITS

The Global Wellness Economy Monitor report states that India is poised to be at the forefront of the wellness revolution with the wellness real estate market to cross $6,088 million. In addition, a study by GSK in 2017 revealed that over 67% of workers throughout Asia felt that their working environment was causing them physical pain, with more than 60% complaining of constant headaches. The impact is of course on productivity. These factors, says Elliot Walker, CEO of the UK-based The Massage Company (TMC), were key to the company selecting India as the target for its first international market expansion.

UNIQUE CONCEPT

TMC is the first membership based massage business outside of the US with centres in Surrey, Kent and Buckinghamshire in the UK. “The membership model incentivizes customers to visit us regularly so that they can receive all the benefits of massage. Besides, we have priced massage subscription quite reasonably,” shares Charlie Thompson, Founder and Managing Director, TMC.

The massage membership model has seen significant growth over the past 15 years in the US, underpinned by the proven benefits that regular, affordable massage by highly trained therapists have to offer. UK centres have so far opened with multiple pre-bookings in place and are already operating in excess of the forecasted revenue. Adds John Holman, Director, Training, TMC: “We invest heavily in staff training to ensure a consistent quality of massage. We have a training academy offering a three-year internal Continuing Professional Development (CPD) course that nurtures and develops great massage therapists.”

FRANCHISE EXPANSION

TMC has partnered with FranGlobal for its expansion in the India market. “Our network of 70+ brokers across India will help us in actively growing the brand in the market. We have planned the launch of TMC at The Master Franchise Show 2019 in June. We will start with Delhi NCR before penetrating deeper into Tier I cities pan-India with over 50 TMC centres,” says, Gaurav Marya, Chairman, FranGlobal. The investment for single franchise unit will start from Rs 60 lakhs and a franchise owner may expect breakeven in 19-20 months.

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