hand and stone massage and Facial Spa operates more than 600 locations in 36 states and Canada.
Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa is converting 23 Massage Green Spa franchise locations in eight states, with 10 of the conversions in Michigan, seven in California and two in Connecticut. As part of the deal, Massage Green units are also being converted to Hand & Spa locations in Colorado, Florida, Ohio, Utah and Virginia.
Financial terms of the conversion agreement were not disclosed.
The spa conversions, the first for the brand, increase Hand & Stone’s footprint to more than 600 spas in 36 states and Canada, while reducing Massage Green’s franchise locations to 10, said Jennifer Durham, director of ‘hand & stone operations. Franchisees in select markets had the option of becoming Hand & Stone or remaining with Massage Green.
Related: How Hand & Stone leverages existing franchisees to grow
Durham also confirmed that all Massage Green franchisees signed new franchise agreements with Hand & Stone prior to the conversion of their spas and that Hand & Stone’s fees are comparable to their Massage Green franchise agreements.
“These conversions allow us to optimize markets where our brand already operates and establish a presence in new priority markets,” said Durham, whose company hosted the new franchisees for training at the brand’s corporate headquarters in Trevose, Pennsylvania, before their conversions.
Jennifer Durham, director of operations at Hand & Stone massage and Facial Spa
Durham said the spa’s conversions are already underway at several locations, and the company aims to complete all conversions, which include new store signage and marketing materials, as well as updating of spa websites and billing and processing software, by the end of the year.
“I’ve known Hand & Stone for a long time, and I know how well they treat and support their franchisees, so I was thrilled when I was presented with the opportunity to become a franchisee,” said Rob Tobias, owner of ‘a couple of spas. in Norwalk and Orange, Conn., which are being converted.
“Even with the added costs to convert, I see this as an opportunity to really grow our businesses,” Tobias said. “Hand & Stone’s overall volume is more than double what we saw with Massage Green, so that’s exciting for me.”
Tobias said the biggest challenge in converting his spas was communicating the changes to his customers.
Rob Tobias, Hand & Stone massage and Facial Spa franchisee
“Change is hard and people usually don’t like change, even if it’s for the best, so we’ve been dealing with that,” he said. “But I’m very proud of having these spas for eight years and the quality of customer service that we provided, and we’re going to continue that and take the time to talk to our customers and members and tell them what’s going on, and why we decided to convert to Hand & Stone, which offers homeowners more support and more services.”
The converted locations will offer their customers the Hand & Stone Lifestyle Membership, including access to amenity offerings such as advanced skin care and spa services such as CryoSkin treatments, decompression therapy massage, Diamond Glow facial, NuFACE microcurrent facial, percussive therapy massage and LED phototherapy facial.
The locations will also offer CBD oil enhancements and collaborations with skin care lines.
The Massage Green spa locations that have agreed to become Hand & Stone are in Woodhaven, Novi, Sterling Heights, St. Clair Shores, Battle Creek, Dearborn, Waterford, Clinton Township, Livonia and Brighton, Michigan; Temecula, Wildomar, Corona, San Marcos, Rancho Cucamonga and San Diego-Scripps Ranch, California; Norwalk and Orange, Connecticut; Lehi, Utah; Colorado Springs-University Village, Colorado; Toledo, Ohio; Jacksonville, Florida; and Fairfax, Virginia.
The plan is also to convert a Massage Green in Riverside-Magnolia, Calif., that burned down before the deal was signed, when the spa’s reconstruction is complete, Durham said.
Hand & Stone, which Harvest Partners bought for an undisclosed amount in 2022, had systems sales of $557.7 million from 517 units in 2021, up nearly 35 percent. The brand was ranked #119 on Franchise Times’ Top 400 list. That growth came after sales fell 17 percent in 2020 during the pandemic.
Related: Hand & Stone acquires Canadian massage franchise experts
The estimated investment range for a Hand & Stone franchise is between $526,791 and $691,311, according to the company’s franchise disclosure document.
