How Franchises Are Democratizing Luxury

Massages, manicures and other health and beauty treatments, once considered indulgences, are increasingly becoming part of everyday life, made available and affordable to the masses by a number of rapidly growing franchise systems.

“There’s been a shift in consumer attitudes,” says Debi Lane, CEO of Boise, Idaho-based Lunchbox (A Waxing Salon), which has sold 113 units since it launched in 2010. “These types of things used to be a luxury. Now they are a commodity, something we put on our to-do lists, like picking up the dry cleaning. Except now people put on their list ‘Go to Whole Foods’ and ‘Get a quick wax.’ They don’t want to spend half a day in a spa. They want to schedule the service so it suits them.”

That’s where franchising comes in. Many concepts are leveraging