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Newsweek- October 16, 2006

Pedicures have been popularized, so why not facials? A new franchise dedicated to that idea is spreading faster than untreated crow's feet.

Facelogic International, of Carlsbad, Calif., is following the affordable-luxury concept that put nail salons into almost every strip mall and city block. The company's spas offer 50-minute facials at $49 each, $39 for customers who pay for a year's 12 monthly treatments in advance. That's about half the price of a typical day-spa facial. To hold down costs, Facelogic Spas employ new esthetician-school grads and don't offer the range of services, such as massages, that full-featured spas do.

In their first 15 months, founder Sherryl Ford and her partners have sold 43 franchises in the United States and Canada, each with franchise fees of $29,900 and full start-up costs approaching $200,000. Six spas are operating now in California, Texas and Alberta; an additional eight will be open in the next three months, mostly in the southern United States.

The firm is backed by Gary Findley, who grew Curves International from three locations to more than 8,000 women-only gyms. Ford, who started as a Curves franchise owner, says she's built business by cross-marketing between the gyms and the spas. She hopes to have 1,000 stores in 10 years. Don't look for a Facelogic Spa next to every nail salon, though. Ford wants each spa to serve a population area of at least 100,000. "Those nail companies are too saturated," she says. That's good for skin, but not for markets.

—Linda Stern
© 2006 Newsweek, Inc.

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