Trends
Brief encounters
From Canada to the UK and Bali to Australia, pop-up facilities are being presented by spa operators and product companies alike
The time-limited operations, based in temporary structures or filling existing, unused spaces are being used to test new markets and locations with innovative, creative, playful concepts in a low-risk way.
Free from the expense of infrastructure and building, pop-ups are thriving in the retail and leisure industry – from shops and hotels to restaurants and cinemas (see Leisure Management, issue 2, 2013 p42).
The spa market is getting in on the act too. Mostly, it’s the professional skincare companies which are using pop-ups to kick-start their entries into new markets. However, operators are beginning to realise that they’re a low-cost way to raise awareness of their brand and attract new audiences in a very tangible way off-site, or to trial a concept on-site to keep their offer fresh and interesting.
Here’s a selection of initiatives that illustrate how to tap into this hot new trend.
Design brief
Australian skincare retailer Swisse teamed up with design firm Gloss Creative to develop a glass-fronted pop-up – with raw timber walls, black metal framework and lush green foliage – for Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival. Over the two months, it attracted 5,000 visitors and distributed more than 20,000 product samples.
Details: www.swisse.com.au; www.glosscreative.com.au
Material world
“I love the pop-up spa culture and see massive potential for it within our business,” says Judy Chapman, the spa curator for Karma Resorts which is based in Bali but has 19 resorts worldwide. While the company already has permanent Karma Spas at most of its resorts, it offers ‘spa tents’ elsewhere on-site too, such as by the sea or pool. It has seven tents in total across its portfolio and another two on the way.
Chapman explains: “They’re an excellent solution for us when the spa is at full capacity and some clients even prefer to take their treatment in a spa tent next to the lapping waves. At Karma Kandara, our flagship property in Bali, the spa tent attracts masses of outside guests who then book treatments at the spa – so it feeds revenue to that too.” She adds that the tents are also very popular at beach club facilities which it runs at its own properties and for other operators such as at the Wyndham Hotel in Fiji.
The spa tents are from Esprit Nomade, a Bali-based company run by Dutch eco, luxury designer Anneke van Waesberghe. A bamboo frame supports draped linen and mosquito nets in an elegant, yet lightweight (25kg) design. Costing only US$20,000 (€14,800, £12,500) a tent, it takes just four months to see a return on investment, says Chapman. They key, she says, is getting staff to circulate with guests offering 10-minute complimentary massages and then upselling once they’re in the tent. “Another reason I like the pop-up spa is that it’s all very relaxed and easy going – sometimes people just want a great massage without dealing with all the formalities”.
Elsewhere, Chapman is using the pop-up concept to trial a medi-spa offering. For two days a week, the spa at Karma Kandara offers non-invasive services, such as colonic hydrotherapy, infrared light facials, microdermabrasion and Botox, in collaboration with local business Cocoon Medical Spa.
While Karma supplies the room, Cocoon brings the equipment and supplies the expert therapists and the revenue is then split 50/50. “It’s our way of gently testing the market,” says Chapman. “We’ve been considering medi-spa services for a while, as it fits our customer profile, but felt reluctant to heavily invest in it. This is an excellent and stress-free way of providing top-notch medical services, plus, as Cocoon is a day spa facility, it recommends its own clients – who are on three, five and seven-night packages – to stay with us.”
Details: www.karmaspas.com
Social butterfly
Swiss skincare brand Valmont teamed up with Catalan artist Isao Artigas to create its pop-up spa concept in 2011. Inspired by the fluttering movements used in Valmont’s facials, Artigas created a film of flying butterflies which can be projected onto transparent fabric screens to create a simple, yet atmospheric temporary spa setting.
Valmont likes to partner with venues and prestigious public events, such as the Cannes Film Festival and Austrian Fashion Week, for its pop-ups. Most recently, it spent 15 days at the Blue Palace in Elounda on the island of Crete, in celebration of the resort’s 10th anniversary.
From 10-24 August, Valmont offered guests a complimentary 20-minute skin analysis and 30-minute facial. While the pop-up only took up 30sq m (323sq ft) in the hotel’s lobby, plus a corner in the hotel’s boutique shop, it created a great deal of interest – it had around 10 bookings a day and sold around 80 products. Alexandra Moulin, Valmont’s trade marketing manager says that, in comparison, even the big spas that stock its products sell no more than 30 a month. “For some guests it really was a nice surprise and as it was the holiday season, so they weren’t in a hurry and were more open to proposals,” says Moulin, adding that being culturally aware of their clientele helped. “We knew the main customers would be Russian and that they like to be addressed in their own language. Fortunately our therapist speaks Russian and also helped translate our invitations and marketing material.”
Valmont has various other pop-ups planned to coincide with special events such as Christmas and Valentine’s day.
Details: www.evalmont.com;
www.bluepalace.gr
House Hold
Consumer skincare brand Nivea has been using pop-up spas in Canada for the last three years. It launched the concept in 2011, in celebration of Nivea’s 100 year anniversary, by taking over a store on Toronto’s popular Queen Street for two weeks. The pop-up was based on Nivea Haus – the brand’s flagship day spa in Hamburg, Germany – and, says Larry LaPorta, general manager, of Beiersdorf Canada “we turned it into a place where consumers could interact with the brand – get their skin analysed and receive skincare and product advice and free products.”
In 2012, it took the pop-up to Toronto and Montreal (two of its biggest markets in Canada) for two weeks. “However, there were still many more Canadian consumers we weren’t reaching,” says LaPorta. So in 2013 it created a mobile pop-up centre which members of the public could visit for a professional skin analysis, advice on products and skincare routines and to receive complimentary samples. Kicking off in Toronto on 11 June, Nivea Haus Mobile travelled across Canada and made stops in Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver before wrapping up in Montreal on 16 August. It was backed by a multi-faceted communications strategy – from multiple PR events and social media campaigns to radio and TV adverts, coupon redemption and competitions. “It was a great success,” says LaPorta. “Over the two months we had more than 24,000 visitors and distributed over 24,000 gift bags, 1,600 full-size products and close to 220,000 samples/coupons/products.
“Although significant planning goes into each Nivea Haus activation, the benefits far outweigh any challenges. Given how successful its been over the past three years, bringing the Haus back in 2014 is definitely something we’ll be considering.”
Details: www.nivea.ca
Vine Tuning
“We had more than 40 beauty journalists try our treatments because of our pop-up,” says Jean-Christophe Samyn, Caudalie’s director for the UK and Ireland. The French vinotherapy brand debuted in UK last year and to mark its arrival took over the Urban Retreat – the day spa in London department store Harrods – with a pop-up spa inspired by its flagship Vinothérapie Spa in the Château Smith Haut Lafitte vineyard in Bordeaux.
From June to July, Urban Retreat featured giant Caudalie visuals and displays throughout, trellises and podiums were planted with vines and signature Caudalie treatments, ranging from 30-90 minutes and £50-£130 (US$80-US$209, €59-€153) were on offer.
“Pop-ups create a lot of buzz and are relatively risk-free,” says Samyn, explaining that they paid Harrods a fixed, but undisclosed, fee for the space. “For us it was purely about brand awareness and the only challenge was trying to accommodate everyone as we had so many treatment requests.”
The Urban Retreat has been presenting pop-up spas since 2008, partnering with operators of destination spas such as Forte Village in Sardinia and Pangkor Laut in Malaysia. They’re seen as a quick, easy and cost-effective way to keep the offer fresh and to give customers a chance to experience treatments from around the world. Jo Harris, head of beauty at Urban Retreat says: “We provide the location and manage the communication strategy, which helps us build our own reputation and recognition globally and domestically with customers who are more focused on travel than beauty.”
Details: www.caudalie.com;
www.urbanretreat.co.uk
Food for thought
The US natural grocer chain Whole Foods Market used Facebook to spread the word about its one-day pop-up spa at its Evanston store in Illinois in August. The Whole Body mini-spa included demonstrations on products, a free massage and goody bags.
The pop-up is an interesting move for the brand following reports that it’s in the process of developing its own dedicated health-focused resort and spa concept (see Spa Business Handbook 2013, p25).
Details: www.wholefoodsmarket.com
Please see page 66 for our interview with pop-up spa designer Paul Smyth
Katie Barnes is the managing editor of Spa Business magazine
E: [email protected]
Twitter: @SpaBusinessKB
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