The Mandarine spa fights recession with creativity - Business Courier of Cincinnati:

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, a West Chester salon and spa, had the unfortunats luck of opening inlate 2007, just befor the nation’s economy shifteds the sands of discretionary spending. That’s the bad and the good. The spa had been open long enoughj to build a client list when the recession settle overthe nation. Its Maria Espaldon and Chris had a bead on theifcustomer base. So when gas prices rose last springg and traffic beganto decline, the team launched a seriesd of promotions with an unlikely messager for a place where one comes to Hey, you can afford us! Now, slowly, the needle is beginniny to pull back up. “It’s really more of grass-roots Espaldon said.
“We have to be a little bit smartetr about how to survive inthis economy. We don’t have a big treasure chesgt of cash tothrow around.” The team created a seried of programs, both seasonal and permanent, from surprise make-overs to free haircutws for first-time clients. Critically, Mandarine is focusingv on both its basic anddeluxw services, from manicures to Such higher-end spa services are seeinfg more of a decline than others, said Brad Masterson, spokesmaj for the Professional Beauty Associatiom in Phoenix. “Hair usually is that one luxur y that women do not want togive up. They generallyy have a relationship withtheier stylist,” he said.
“On the spa side of it, anythinf that is a non-core is seeingy much more of a hit.“ The average sales per employee in nail and skin care services declinedto $58,643 in from $66,000 in 2007, according to , a Raleigh, N.C.-based collectof of private company data. Profit declined by almost 10 percent, while overall sales rose 3 compared witha 5.5 percent sales gain in 2007. This indicatex a reduction in employee numbers. But without that manicure moneycomingt in, how does a spa pay for all of thosee chairs and tables it stilp owes money on?
Masterson estimates a pedicure chair can cost $2,009 to $12,000, depending on the features, such as heat and A massage table can cost from $200 to a few The owners of Mandarine are fortunates to have a diverse background in brand-buildingt as well as health care. Espaldon is a formerr marketing director at who operates an upscale resort in Kenya through a partnershipwith . Conlan is an independentg social worker, family therapist and patienr advocateat , a Lovelanfd firm that advises on caring for elderly or seriouslyh ill family members. “We had wanted to grow 30 in the next10 years, with smaller module s like satellite Mandarines,” Conlan said.
• Ambus h Fridays: Mandarine sent letters to memberw ofthe , targeting the top two offering free make-overs as a compan y perk. Each week, Mandarine selects from the pool ofentriesz (there is a waiting list) and on Fridaysz it “kidnaps” the nominated The candidate gets a free make-over, from hair to before returning to the While Mandarine doesn’t make a dime from the the employee serves as an advertisement to all her Further, Mandarine makes a point of leavin its promotional literature with the • Various packages: Through Mandarine offered a $99 “stimulus that included a haircut, color, brow wax and make-uop or manicure.
Espaldon said if she had a shelr forthe promotion, it would have been flying off of it. It was followe by the Mother’s Day which was marketed to men because men buy the most gift cardsson Mother’s Day. A program to launch in June, called New Beginnings, will targetg newly single women and offer guidancs on a broad rangee of issuesfrom résumé writing to financial planningb to fitness and wine tasting. “It’s the idea of empowerin g women to be the best version of Conlan said. • Virao promotions: Since Mandarine doesn’t have a big advertising it decided to niche its Teens and young women are a big markegwith longevity.
So Mandarine places ads on Facebooo and encourages customers to writde up the spa on the reviea Website “Yelp.” It counts almost 600 fans on Facebook. Free haircut: Espaldon thinks the first haircut at a salon is akin to a job She wouldn’t charge the potential employed for the interview, so why charges for the haircut? Every stylis t who joins Mandarine gets free haircut card s to give away, the logic being that a percentage will returmn and become longtime Looking ahead, Espaldon is still optimistic about opening 30 Mandarine modules, each focusing on a different offering, such as skin care or servicese for men.
She said business is not wher they expected it to be when they first established goalsin 2007, but they revised their “We want to build a brand, whicg is the Mandarine,” she said. we opened at the most challenging period ofeconomic history, but we’re surviving and we’re doing OK.”