Spa Origins Co., Ltd.

Horwath International changes its name to
Crowe Horwath International as part of global branding strategy

NEW YORK (Apr. 02, 2009) Horwath International, one of the 10 largest global networks of independent accounting and advisory services firms, has changed its name to Crowe Horwath International.

The new network name combines the international awareness of the Horwath brand with that of Crowe Horwath LLP, the network’s largest member firm in the United States, and unveils the new strategy to create a single global brand to build awareness as a highly integrated network of accounting and advisory services firms.

“In today’s world of rapid globalization and increasingly competitive markets, businesses around the world are expressing needs that our network is well positioned to serve,” explained Frank Arford, Crowe Horwath International CEO.  “The combination of the Crowe brand in the U.S. with the strength of the Horwath brand internationally is our first step in building a single global brand to serve a global market.”

The Crowe Horwath network consists of more than 140 independent accounting and advisory services firms, 560 offices and 26,250 professionals and staff in more than 100 countries around the world. Combined network fee volume for the fiscal year ending December 2008 was greater than US $3 billion.

“The pairing of the two names further enhances both brands in the global marketplace. The recent Crowe and Horwath name changes support Crowe’s strategy to become a national firm that is recognized globally as a leading provider of audit, tax, risk and consulting services,” explained Chuck Allen, Crowe Horwath LLP CEO. “This is a major step toward recognizing the worldwide capabilities of Crowe Horwath International as a highly integrated network of independently owned firms committed to delivering value to multinational clients doing business across borders.”

“Crowe Horwath International member firms share a common purpose of building value for clients through international business,” said Arford.  “We are unified through a shared commitment for impeccable quality service, highly integrated service delivery processes and a common set of core values and management philosophies that guide our decisions daily.”

About Crowe Horwath International
Crowe Horwath International (www.crowehorwathinternational.com) is a top-ten global network of independent accounting and advisory services firms. Each member firm is well established as a leader in its national business community providing audit, tax, risk and advisory services.

Intelligent Spas has published the Global Spa Benchmark Report which presents a plethora of financial statistics for the global spa industry and includes breakdowns of key performance indicators by region for the Americas, Europe, Middle East/Africa and Asia Pacific.
This report contains over 1,850 spa industry benchmarks relating to revenue, expenses, visits and employment, with many topics showing historical data available from 2005 to 2008, plus forecast data for 2009 and 2010. The benchmarks are comparable across the entire spa industry due to the consistent methodology implemented.  Covering everything from statistics on Treatment Room Occupancy, Therapist Productivity Rate and Capture Rate of Hotel Guests, to spa industry intelligence  on business structure, management structure and spa infrastructure,
The research has confirmed that the spa industry is not immune to the affects of the global financial crisis, with operators seeing a 13% decline in the number of spa goers in 2008 and anticipating a 9.4% decline in spa revenue in 2009, although all are predicting an increase in revenue and visits per spa in 2010.

Same findings:

• Asia-Pacific average spa treatment rate USD77.
• Global average size spa 788 square metres
• Global average spa has nine (9) treatment rooms
• Globally 50% of spa revenue is spent on salaries, bonuses and employee benefits
• Globally the day spa guest has grown in importance, with 38% of total spa visits at hotel spas coming from local residents and other tourists not staying at that hotel.
• 32% of spas in America are operated under a management company
• The outlook for 2010 is bright with all regions expecting growth of between 8% and 32%.

For more details www.IntelligentSpas.com

We as an industry are notoriously bad in providing information which enables benchmarking in any form.  As such, and even though we all complain about the lack of information available we have no one to blame but ourselves.  If we share industry information as readily and as openly as the hotel industry does, we would be much better off.  In 2008, Elsevier Ltd published a book – Understanding the Global Spa Industry, edited by Marc Cohen and Gerard Bodeker.  With each chapter written by global spa industry players, in a reader friendly manner, the book makes a fascinating read for anyone wishing to better understand our industry.  ISBN: 978-0-7506-8464-4 www.eslevier.com

There is a simple five (5) step approach to the preparation of a Marketing Plan for spas (and any other type of business for that matter!).

1. Define your objectives.  In other words, what is it that you want to accomplish?  A specific target that only you can define, as it is your spa business.  Some examples include: Increase average treatment bed utilization to 90%, or perhaps a increase revenues by 25%.  A tangible and measurable objective enables clear direction for the entire team.
2. Define your strategy. How will you achieve your objectives?  Perhaps you need to increase customer awareness of your business, or add new treatments to your menu, or reduce operating costs.  Do not make the strategy complicated – apply the K.I.S.S. rule where possible.
3. Tactics.  This defines how you will put your strategy into practice in order to achieve your objectives.  A strategy of adding new treatments to a menu could employ the hiring of a specialist therapist to conduct that treatment, a mail-out to existing customers, or handing out flyers at the nearest shopping centre.
4. Timeframe.  How long will it take achieve the objective. “ Rome was not built in a day”, so do not expect things to change overnight.  Set a realistic time frame that is achievable.
5. Budget.  Define a budget.  If you are going to print flyers to hand out at a shopping centre, how many do you plan to hand out?  Is there a special offer included that will cost you money?  Do you need to hire someone to hand them out?  Simple things that all cost a business money, even if it is minimal.

Being clear with your Marketing Plan makes is easier for all.  Knowing and understanding your own spa operation makes it easier to establish clear direction with achievable results.  No point in targeting a specific nationality customer if you are not prepared to translate you menu into their language, or at least consider hiring at least one person who can speak the language of your targeted customer.
There are myriad of marketing books available in the book stores, yet as an industry we all continue to talk about “needing assistance with marketing”.  Following the simple steps listed above and developing a Marketing Plan will go a long way towards addressing this matter.