Friday, October 19, 2007 Salon mulls further growth
OPTIMISM in Cebu's beauty and wellness industry prodded a Cebu-grown spa and salon to expand its network by opening more franchised outlets.
D'Che Spa Salon proprietor Armida Rabilas said the company is thinking of opening five to 10 franchised outlets in Cebu and neighboring provinces next year.
The latest branch of the salon, its first franchised outlet, opened last Wednesday in Liloan, Cebu.
Rabilas said the Liloan branch caters to customers in the northern part of the province.
"There is a strong demand for a one-stop-shop spa service here," said Lei Marie Apas, D'Che-Lilo-an franchisee.
Since the franchised outlet's soft opening early this month, it has attracted customers from different genders and age groups, Apas said.
She said the decision to open D'Che was due to the company's strong brand recall and its extensive product offering.
Apart from basic services and product packages, like "Unlimited One-day Spa" and "Sparty," the spa salon outlets will start to offer at the end of this month the "Kid D'Che Spa" and the "Kid D'Che Sparty," for children 12 years and below.
"We like to (consider) ourselves as a wholesome spa salon that caters to the entire family," Rabilas said, adding that the company is trying to establish its niche.
She said that with the opening of the Lilo-an branch, the company is determined to open another branch in any of the key cities in Cebu before the end of the year.
"But we will not rush things," Rabilas said. She said, though, that the company has been getting inquiries from potential franchisees in Dumaguete, Bacolod, Davao and Zam-boanga.
Rabilas said the company will soon launch a mobile salon to determine the market strength of an area. (MMM)
