BW Confidential - Issue #1 - April 2010 - (Page 32)

Wellness report Industry roundtable Best practice Four spa professionals talk about the challenges facing the business How can the industry better embrace technology? Peggy Wynne Borgman: We are a techaverse industry and so spas tend to be late in adopting technology that could help them. Online scheduling is arguably the most important opportunity for spas and still today the majority of spas don’t have that capability. I see online scheduling and spa management software moving into the cloud—web-based solutions. If your solution resides online, you don’t have as much to do—it’s automatically updated and data is better protected. [Online solutions] will speed up, and they offer many benefits to small spas as you don’t have to purchase software. I believe software is in its sunset for many commercial applications. Ghislain Waeyaert: In Europe the industry is way behind; many spas don’t even offer online booking, but online marketing and booking are the future as they boost a spa’s profitability. Software that is truly adapted to the spa is still hard to find and too many functions are often under-used. The more complex the system the harder it is to use and spa staff don’t necessarily have the time or the inclination to deal with technical issues. Technology should be simple. Verena Lavisgne-Fox: Thanks to technology we no longer have to do manual reporting. Technology also allows you to more easily manage mailing or marketing initiatives, including monthly or quarterly newsletters, offers and invitations to parties or workshops. Véronique Ellinger: The starting point is having good software that is regularly updated and is tailor-made for the spa—you won’t manage a 300m2 spa the way you would a 2,000m2 location. Our spa, for example, has memberships, which means parameters to define classes taken, treatment rooms booked, use of the bar and products sold. Being able to meticulously define parameters is essential; the data entered will be used for scheduling and marketing purposes, and if the software doesn’t integrate the marketing aspect it’s failed from the start. Wynne Business Spa Consulting & Education president Peggy Wynne Borgman Clarins spa activities development director Ghislain Waeyaert Four Seasons Europe senior spa director Verena Lavisgne-Fox L’Espace Payot director Véronique Ellinger 32 April 2010 - N°1 - BW Confidential

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of BW Confidential - Issue #1 - April 2010

Cover
Comment
Content
Update - Brand and retail recap
Take note - Market facts, figures and trends
Launches - The latest fragrance, skincare and make-up launches
Best of BW - Market highlights
Interview - Sephora international & development md Olivier Schaeffer
Insight: make-up - Category overview
- Industry viewpoint
- Trends
Wellness report - Overview
- Industry roundtable
- Spa case studies
Travel retail - Europe: little chance of a rebound
Market watch: Western Europe - Regional analysis
- Germany
- France
- UK
- Spain
- Italy
Radar - Six up-and-coming beauty brands
Packaging special - Industry analysis
- Innovation
Last word - UBS analyst Nik Modi's outlook for 2010

BW Confidential - Issue #1 - April 2010