L'Occitane, the natural skincare and beauty brand, is on an expansion mode. After recently becoming the first French company to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and being oversubscribed 160 times, it is now entering the Indian spa market in partnership with Devi Resorts.
“India is now a priority for us. Our three stores in the country have been very successful. Our original plan was to open 20 stores in the next five years, but returns have been promising and we are planning to open four more by the end of this year. Internationally L’Occitane spas are present on the high-streets, in stores and resorts. The idea of opening the spa here is to extend the entire experience to our Indian customers as well,” says Guillaume Geslin, country manager, L’Occitane India.
Apart from the L’Occitane signature treatments, new treatments are being developed using local ingredients from Rajasthan. “We are trying to bring together the concepts of Indian and mediterranean well-being,” says Geslin.
Christened ‘Devi Spa by L’Occitane’, the spa will premier in Devi Garh palace, Udaipur, and two upcoming properties of Devi Resorts in Jaipur—the Devi Ratan and Rasa. The spas will be operational in October this year. “Devi Ratan resort will have a 20,000 sq ft spa, making it one of the largest in the country. The Rasa resort, adjacent to a wildlife reserve and sharing a boundary with the 400-year-old Amer fort, will have 500 sqft luxury tents with private spa pavilions,” says Rajnish Sabharwal, president, Boutique Hotels India.
Sanghvi Brands has been given the master franchise to operate the spas by L’Occitane in India. “We intend to launch at least five spas in India over the next 24 months covering metros and tourist destinations,” says Darpan Sanghvi, MD, Sanghvi Brands.
Tags:L'Occitane, Healthcare franchise, beauty franchise, Spa Franchise, Spa Business, L'Occitane India, Sanghvi Brands, Darpan Sanghvi, wellness franchise,best spa franchise,
Source:FE Bureau,July 18, 2010.
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Showing posts with label Healthcare franchise. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Healthcare franchise. Show all posts
Monday, July 19, 2010
Monday, May 24, 2010
Birth World Offers Birth Support Services Franchises In India
Birth World to Launch Birth support services in Cochin
MedTree Health Care Pvt Ltd has announced Launch of its first Birth Support Services Center in Kochi and announces expansion of 25 centers across India in the first year of operations
Birth world is Launching a innovative range of maternity and infant care services that specializes in meeting the unique and ever-changing needs of Pregnant Women and infants .
Birth world services includes Birth spa which focus on Infant Massage Therapy and Birth academy for Child Birth education. It also provides other variety of pregnancy support services . It's like get together place for pregnant women, moms and babies, a place where they can relax and be pampered while simultaneously getting educated with the information and services they need. Birth world provides services for women still trying to get pregnant, and those in their postpartum months and offers almost everything a woman could need or want in respect to pregnancy. Birth World aims at making mothers - strong, competent, capable mothers and not only giving birth to babies.
"Birth world will be the first Centre in India to provide scientific Infant massage therapy in a organised approach, with highly qualified Physiotherapists and Clinical child development specialist" Said ,Dr.M.A.Babu ,Managing Director of Medtree Healthcare Pvt Ltd. The state of the art facility at Panampilly Nagar, Cochin will be opened during the first week of June '10
Speaking on the Benefits of Infant massage training, Chief Program officer ,Dr.Surya Subhashini said Infant massage emphasis on mom's loving touch and through touch, babies learn the comfort of loving and of being loved. Infant massage also Relaxes ,Enhances Bonding, Aids Growth and Development. Promotes Communication and Improves Baby's Sleep.
Birth World , Wholly owned subsidiary of Med Tree Healthcare pvt Ltd Promoted by a group of NRI Doctors and Businessmen will initially extend their services to Cochin and has plans to set up 25 centers in India in the first of year operation through franchising. "A large portion of the investment of a center will done by the franchisee." Typically, the investments required for setting up a center is 15 lacs." MedTree has worked mainly in concept development, setting the standards and creating a brand.
Notes to Editor
About Birth World
Birth world has Comfortable Birth support facility for child birth education, counseling and Infant massage therapy. Freedom to move about and a very personal touch with warm hearts and caring hands, you will receive personal care from our staff of skilled professionals who understand the physical, emotional and cultural needs of mom and baby. From the beginning of pregnancy through birth and postpartum, the choices are yours, as you work with our team to create your own unique childbirth experience. Childbirth is truly a family event so we support and encourage your family to play an active role in welcoming your baby.
Source:Cochin, Kerala, May 23, 2010 /India PRwire/
Tags: Birth World, MedTree Health Care Pvt Ltd, Birth Support Service Franchise, Maternity and Infant Care Services, Birth Spa, Healthcare franchise, Maternity Hospitals Franchise,
MedTree Health Care Pvt Ltd has announced Launch of its first Birth Support Services Center in Kochi and announces expansion of 25 centers across India in the first year of operations
Birth world is Launching a innovative range of maternity and infant care services that specializes in meeting the unique and ever-changing needs of Pregnant Women and infants .
Birth world services includes Birth spa which focus on Infant Massage Therapy and Birth academy for Child Birth education. It also provides other variety of pregnancy support services . It's like get together place for pregnant women, moms and babies, a place where they can relax and be pampered while simultaneously getting educated with the information and services they need. Birth world provides services for women still trying to get pregnant, and those in their postpartum months and offers almost everything a woman could need or want in respect to pregnancy. Birth World aims at making mothers - strong, competent, capable mothers and not only giving birth to babies.
"Birth world will be the first Centre in India to provide scientific Infant massage therapy in a organised approach, with highly qualified Physiotherapists and Clinical child development specialist" Said ,Dr.M.A.Babu ,Managing Director of Medtree Healthcare Pvt Ltd. The state of the art facility at Panampilly Nagar, Cochin will be opened during the first week of June '10
Speaking on the Benefits of Infant massage training, Chief Program officer ,Dr.Surya Subhashini said Infant massage emphasis on mom's loving touch and through touch, babies learn the comfort of loving and of being loved. Infant massage also Relaxes ,Enhances Bonding, Aids Growth and Development. Promotes Communication and Improves Baby's Sleep.
Birth World , Wholly owned subsidiary of Med Tree Healthcare pvt Ltd Promoted by a group of NRI Doctors and Businessmen will initially extend their services to Cochin and has plans to set up 25 centers in India in the first of year operation through franchising. "A large portion of the investment of a center will done by the franchisee." Typically, the investments required for setting up a center is 15 lacs." MedTree has worked mainly in concept development, setting the standards and creating a brand.
Notes to Editor
About Birth World
Birth world has Comfortable Birth support facility for child birth education, counseling and Infant massage therapy. Freedom to move about and a very personal touch with warm hearts and caring hands, you will receive personal care from our staff of skilled professionals who understand the physical, emotional and cultural needs of mom and baby. From the beginning of pregnancy through birth and postpartum, the choices are yours, as you work with our team to create your own unique childbirth experience. Childbirth is truly a family event so we support and encourage your family to play an active role in welcoming your baby.
Source:Cochin, Kerala, May 23, 2010 /India PRwire/
Tags: Birth World, MedTree Health Care Pvt Ltd, Birth Support Service Franchise, Maternity and Infant Care Services, Birth Spa, Healthcare franchise, Maternity Hospitals Franchise,
Monday, May 3, 2010
Challenges Of Health Care Service Franchise In India: The Apollo Clinics
I came across a piece co-authored by my former colleague Ratan Jalan in ‘Marketing Health Services’ (Eye on The Indian Market, Spring 2009 edition)of the prestigious journal of the American Marketing Association. I have known Mr. Jalan since he hired me to work for him at Apollo Health and Lifestyle Ltd., many years ago and hugely respect his scholarship and knowledge about the business of healthcare in India. However, I must confess that I do not quite agree with Mr. Jalan’s portrayal of the opportunities in franchising healthcare services in India and his conclusions about Apollo Health and Lifestyle’s successful franchising of the Apollo Clinics.
Apollo Hospitals is one of the largest chain of hospitals in India. It has in its network more than 41 hospitals and manages over 8000 beds mostly in the secondary and the tertiary healthcare space. I met Ratan in the year 2001, when he was setting up Apollo Health and Lifestyle, which was to get into franchising of the Ápollo Clinics, the primary healthcare services chain, which were supposed to complement Apollo’s large secondary and tertiary care network. These clinics were envisaged as a franchised operations, supported by the Apollo Hospitals group. They were to leverage Apollo’s excellent brand equity and knowledge about the healthcare in India and help franchisees run a profitable enterprise.
The Apollo Clinics were well conceived. The service mix was essentially OPD consultations, a collection centre for pathology samples, radiology services (X-Ray, Ultrasound) and basic cardiology diagnostics (ECG, TMT and Echo). The clinics also had a 24 hour pharmacy and basic preventive health packages were also offered. We worked hard on the look and feel of the clinic (Ratan had Alfaz Miller design the clinic interiors), Ravi Bajaj was to do the staff uniforms, and the clinics were to hire smart and well-trained youngsters to be the face of the clinics. The consultants were to from the local areas and it was thought that Apollo Hospital’s senior consultants will also run their OPD’s from these clinics.
On the business side of things a franchisee needed to invest close to Rs. 20 MN upfront. The business plan included a fixed percentage payout by the franchisee of the revenue that he made. Apollo was to handhold the franchisee through the setting up of the clinic, purchase of medical equipment, development of the software to run the clinic, recruitment of the employees both medical and non medical, and selection of doctors. Apollo was also to provide an exhaustive set of instructions and guidelines on the management of the clinic to the franchisees and it was responsible for monitoring the quality of the services delivered at these clinics.
While on paper the model looks perfect, it has some serious infirmities.
A franchised operation by definition has to be a replication of an existing successful model. In Apollo’s case, they had nothing to show in the area of Primary Healthcare. They used to run a clinic in Mumbai, which they owned. Just about the time Apollo decided to go the franchise route, their own clinic shut shop. It was losing money hand over fist and the management decided to shut it down.
In the franchised model that was now envisaged Apollo had no financial stake. The money was to be put up by the franchisee, he was to bear all the costs including a revenue share with Apollo and it was not clear how Apollo will contribute to bringing in new patients to the clinic. It was expected that Apollo’s name itself will pull in patients. Thus the franchisee was to fend for himself as far as developing the business was concerned. Apollo could have contributed by investing in the brand ‘Ápollo Clinics’ and by forcing some of its leading doctors to run the OPD’s from the franchised clinics. Apollo made lofty promises of investing millions in the brand but just didn’t. As far as doctors were concerned, some feeble attempts were made to get Apollo doctors to attend these clinics but hardly anything materialised. The problem really was that in Apollo system the senior doctors are not paid firm salaries and they work on a revenue share model. Thus, Apollo’s control over these doctors is minimal. The senior doctors with a busy practice had no reason to sit in the newly opened Apollo Clinics, which in any case did not have any patients of their own.
The selection of the franchisees too threw up issues. The franchisees were largely businessmen with hardly any experience of healthcare. Neither did they have any particular love or passion for the healthcare business. I remember meeting and offering franchises to computer hardware merchants, aluminium dealers, a golf ball manufacturer, a real estate player and the like. All of them were driven purely by a profit motive. Some also saw healthcare as a more respectable business for their children. We sold the franchises indiscriminately, (at least in the beginning) to anyone willing to put up the money. A network was thus born that had no glue except the brand name that each franchise shared with the other.
The biggest casualty in all this was of course the quality of healthcare services that each clinic rendered. There was no uniformity as each franchisee left to fend for himself became increasingly desperate for revenue. He hired doctors on his own many of dubious quality, started offering cuts for referrals, set his own prices and started indulging in all kinds of practices that would help him get the extra money that he needed to stay afloat. As most of these franchises were not businessmen with deep pockets, they were willing to cut corners as their very survival was at stake. In-spite of all this many had to close down operations.
Apollo gradually lost control over these franchises. Since, it did not add any value to the franchise’s life he decided not to pay the monthly royalty. Many refused access to Apollo personnel on their premises and are now pretty much operating as stand-alone entities. They continue to use the Apollo name, as that is the only thing, which adds value to their operations.
Creating a franchised healthcare network is fraught with danger. Apollo failed by not first establishing a successful chain of primary healthcare centres of its own. It had no proven learnings in that space and it undertook to make money at its franchisee’s cost. It lost the trust of not only its franchisees, but also of many of its patients who certainly expected a lot better from Apollo.
Tags:Apollo Franchise, Healthcare franchise, franchising healthcare, successful franchising, Apollo Clinics, franchised operations, Ratan Jalan, alfaz miller,ravi bajaj,franchised model,franchised clinics,
Source: Ana's Weblog: The Apollo Clinics-The Perils of Franchising Healthcare Services in India.
Apollo Hospitals is one of the largest chain of hospitals in India. It has in its network more than 41 hospitals and manages over 8000 beds mostly in the secondary and the tertiary healthcare space. I met Ratan in the year 2001, when he was setting up Apollo Health and Lifestyle, which was to get into franchising of the Ápollo Clinics, the primary healthcare services chain, which were supposed to complement Apollo’s large secondary and tertiary care network. These clinics were envisaged as a franchised operations, supported by the Apollo Hospitals group. They were to leverage Apollo’s excellent brand equity and knowledge about the healthcare in India and help franchisees run a profitable enterprise.
The Apollo Clinics were well conceived. The service mix was essentially OPD consultations, a collection centre for pathology samples, radiology services (X-Ray, Ultrasound) and basic cardiology diagnostics (ECG, TMT and Echo). The clinics also had a 24 hour pharmacy and basic preventive health packages were also offered. We worked hard on the look and feel of the clinic (Ratan had Alfaz Miller design the clinic interiors), Ravi Bajaj was to do the staff uniforms, and the clinics were to hire smart and well-trained youngsters to be the face of the clinics. The consultants were to from the local areas and it was thought that Apollo Hospital’s senior consultants will also run their OPD’s from these clinics.
On the business side of things a franchisee needed to invest close to Rs. 20 MN upfront. The business plan included a fixed percentage payout by the franchisee of the revenue that he made. Apollo was to handhold the franchisee through the setting up of the clinic, purchase of medical equipment, development of the software to run the clinic, recruitment of the employees both medical and non medical, and selection of doctors. Apollo was also to provide an exhaustive set of instructions and guidelines on the management of the clinic to the franchisees and it was responsible for monitoring the quality of the services delivered at these clinics.
While on paper the model looks perfect, it has some serious infirmities.
A franchised operation by definition has to be a replication of an existing successful model. In Apollo’s case, they had nothing to show in the area of Primary Healthcare. They used to run a clinic in Mumbai, which they owned. Just about the time Apollo decided to go the franchise route, their own clinic shut shop. It was losing money hand over fist and the management decided to shut it down.
In the franchised model that was now envisaged Apollo had no financial stake. The money was to be put up by the franchisee, he was to bear all the costs including a revenue share with Apollo and it was not clear how Apollo will contribute to bringing in new patients to the clinic. It was expected that Apollo’s name itself will pull in patients. Thus the franchisee was to fend for himself as far as developing the business was concerned. Apollo could have contributed by investing in the brand ‘Ápollo Clinics’ and by forcing some of its leading doctors to run the OPD’s from the franchised clinics. Apollo made lofty promises of investing millions in the brand but just didn’t. As far as doctors were concerned, some feeble attempts were made to get Apollo doctors to attend these clinics but hardly anything materialised. The problem really was that in Apollo system the senior doctors are not paid firm salaries and they work on a revenue share model. Thus, Apollo’s control over these doctors is minimal. The senior doctors with a busy practice had no reason to sit in the newly opened Apollo Clinics, which in any case did not have any patients of their own.
The selection of the franchisees too threw up issues. The franchisees were largely businessmen with hardly any experience of healthcare. Neither did they have any particular love or passion for the healthcare business. I remember meeting and offering franchises to computer hardware merchants, aluminium dealers, a golf ball manufacturer, a real estate player and the like. All of them were driven purely by a profit motive. Some also saw healthcare as a more respectable business for their children. We sold the franchises indiscriminately, (at least in the beginning) to anyone willing to put up the money. A network was thus born that had no glue except the brand name that each franchise shared with the other.
The biggest casualty in all this was of course the quality of healthcare services that each clinic rendered. There was no uniformity as each franchisee left to fend for himself became increasingly desperate for revenue. He hired doctors on his own many of dubious quality, started offering cuts for referrals, set his own prices and started indulging in all kinds of practices that would help him get the extra money that he needed to stay afloat. As most of these franchises were not businessmen with deep pockets, they were willing to cut corners as their very survival was at stake. In-spite of all this many had to close down operations.
Apollo gradually lost control over these franchises. Since, it did not add any value to the franchise’s life he decided not to pay the monthly royalty. Many refused access to Apollo personnel on their premises and are now pretty much operating as stand-alone entities. They continue to use the Apollo name, as that is the only thing, which adds value to their operations.
Creating a franchised healthcare network is fraught with danger. Apollo failed by not first establishing a successful chain of primary healthcare centres of its own. It had no proven learnings in that space and it undertook to make money at its franchisee’s cost. It lost the trust of not only its franchisees, but also of many of its patients who certainly expected a lot better from Apollo.
Tags:Apollo Franchise, Healthcare franchise, franchising healthcare, successful franchising, Apollo Clinics, franchised operations, Ratan Jalan, alfaz miller,ravi bajaj,franchised model,franchised clinics,
Source: Ana's Weblog: The Apollo Clinics-The Perils of Franchising Healthcare Services in India.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Hospitals take to franchising In India For Their Expansions
Considering the huge investment needed for establishing the necessary healthcare infrastructure in the country,franchising is emerging as a viable option for hospitals to expand to newer geographies.
According to estimates, the healthcare industry in India is short of one million beds and this requires a capital investment of $30 to $40 billion. This is where franchising comes as a model for healthcare franchise to attract investments from non-medical investors.
Apollo Hospitals is one among the pioneers to have sought franchisee model for its clinics. According to Ratan Jalan, former CEO of Apollo Health and Lifestyle and in-charge of the Apollo Clinics, ‘responsible franchising’ is a successful model for developing healthcare infrastructure.
“Careful choice of franchisee and increased involvement of the franchisor, training, technologies and people selection is needed in healthcare more than any other business. Less than 10 per cent of Apollo’s franchisees have any medical background. But they have a passion for healthcare, quality and focus, besides financial resources. Substantial involvement from the part of franchisor, at least in the initial stages is crucial,” he said.
According to Gaurav Marya, president of Franchise India, the franchisee brings in capital, local know-how and entrepreneurial enthusiasm to the business. “Currently, only five per cent of the hospitals in the private sector are franchisee-operated. But the potential is huge as healthcare is a highly capital-intensive business,” he said.
V Vijayakumar, MD of V V Dentistree sees franchising as an option to replicate standardized protocols and practices in smaller towns. The dental chain with six centres in Chennai is looking at having a network of franchisee-operated clinics after it builds up the brand in all the four metros.
However, Dr Amar Agarwal, CMD of Dr Agarwal’s Eye Hospital finds that transferring the vision and ensuring the same-level of quality are major challenges in a franchising model.
According to estimates, the healthcare industry in India is short of one million beds and this requires a capital investment of $30 to $40 billion. This is where franchising comes as a model for healthcare franchise to attract investments from non-medical investors.
Apollo Hospitals is one among the pioneers to have sought franchisee model for its clinics. According to Ratan Jalan, former CEO of Apollo Health and Lifestyle and in-charge of the Apollo Clinics, ‘responsible franchising’ is a successful model for developing healthcare infrastructure.
“Careful choice of franchisee and increased involvement of the franchisor, training, technologies and people selection is needed in healthcare more than any other business. Less than 10 per cent of Apollo’s franchisees have any medical background. But they have a passion for healthcare, quality and focus, besides financial resources. Substantial involvement from the part of franchisor, at least in the initial stages is crucial,” he said.
According to Gaurav Marya, president of Franchise India, the franchisee brings in capital, local know-how and entrepreneurial enthusiasm to the business. “Currently, only five per cent of the hospitals in the private sector are franchisee-operated. But the potential is huge as healthcare is a highly capital-intensive business,” he said.
V Vijayakumar, MD of V V Dentistree sees franchising as an option to replicate standardized protocols and practices in smaller towns. The dental chain with six centres in Chennai is looking at having a network of franchisee-operated clinics after it builds up the brand in all the four metros.
However, Dr Amar Agarwal, CMD of Dr Agarwal’s Eye Hospital finds that transferring the vision and ensuring the same-level of quality are major challenges in a franchising model.
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