Why The American Spa Giant 'Red Door' Chose India Over China.

MUMBAI: American spa major Red Door Spa Holdings has bypassed China and zeroed in on India for starting its global operations, a senior company official said.

“India was our first choice over China because of many factors,” said Todd Walter, CEO, Red Door Spa Holdings. “The rate at which the hospitality industry, specially the five-star hotels are growing, an increasing demand for tourism, thousands of years of culture of well-being (Ayurveda), right demographics, younger population (highly educated and affluent)—all contributed to our decision.”

For its maiden foray outside the $13.5-billion North American spa market, Red Door is ready with a two-fold strategy. First, it will partner with a leading Indian hospitality chain. Second, it will also tie up with another partner for free-standing spas in all the major Indian cities, which may include high-end residential projects as well.

“In a decade, our goal is to be in every major city of the world. And in India, we should have two spas in Delhi and Mumbai by 2011,” said Mr Walter, who is on an India visit.

The value addition that Red Door brings in for a hospitality chain, feels Mr Walter, is an increasing local footfall because of the day spa concept. And along with its Mario Tricoci salon expertise, Red Door CEO is confident of opening an additional revenue door for the hotel it partners with.

In a bid to protect the brand name and luxury positioning, Red Door won’t go for either a licensing or a franchise model in India. “It has to be a JV or a model where we have a supervisory role for sure,” said Mr Walter. All the 31 spas that operate under the Red Door name and the 20 salons under Mario Tricoci are directly owned by the Red Door Spa Holding group so that they can ensure the luxury positioning of the brand.

A leader in the North American day spa market with a turnover of $160 million, Red Door Spa started working on its global expansion strategy after the onset of recession in America.

With over 100 years in the industry, Red Door Spa owns and operates 51 full-service salons and day spas across the United States. The privately-held company backed by North Castle Partners, a private-equity firm specializing in investments in the healthy living and aging sector, licenses trademarks from the publicly-traded fragrance and cosmetics company, Elizabeth Arden Inc, part of Unilever PLC and a $1.1-bn global brand.

Tags:Red Door, Todd Walter, Red Door Spa Holdings, Mario Tricoci, North Castle Partners, Elizabeth Arden, Day Spa, Indian Hospitality Chain, Salon Franchise, franchise model, licensing,

Source:24 AUG, 2010, 02.05AM IST, NANDINI RAGHAVENDRA,ET BUREAU

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Sachin Tendulkar ST all set to FRANCHISE Brand Sachin.

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is the God of Cricket and with a billion Indian fans and many more around the world, the ‘god’ now wants to go the FRANCHISE route to spread the gospel. Want more energy from a chocolate bar? Buy Sachin Tendulkar’s. Want more glucose from that good ol’ biscuit? Try ‘god’s own brand’.

Want better running shoes that can make you perhaps even fly? Try Adidas’ God, err ST line. Want a better cover drive? Join one of his cricket nurseries that will spring up from Ahmedabad to Adelaide. Want a better orgasm? We don’t know if he can help, but what the heck, if KamaSutra can pay a premium, the Mumbai Bomber might just oblige.

India’s greatest sporting icon is making sure that before he hangs up his boots, Brand Tendulkar is a sustainable multi-million dollar cash cow. Says Venu Nair, president (South Asia), World Sport Group: “Sachin is planning a brand overhaul. We are working with him to chalk out a strategy to make sure that the sustainability curve of his brand doesn’t dip suddenly after he stops playing. We are betting on him for at least the next 10 years.”

Here’s the plan: A mnemonic (ST) has already been designed and can be seen on Tendulkar’s bat. This will slowly be extended to cricket academies, sporting goods, apparel, chocolates, health drinks, energy bars, coaching books and manuals among others. “We are planning four zonal ST branded cricket academies in the next 12 months with one each in Australia and England,” reveals Nair. “In the next five years, we expect the ST brand to be worth $75-100 million.” But wait, the stumps are not drawn yet.

Source:ET 6 Dec 2009, 1945 hrs IST, John Sarkar & Amit Sharma, ET Bureau