Massage Chair business, thoughts?

[Bagelz]

Hey everyone,
I am thinking about starting a small massage chair business. I was wondering if I could get any thoughts about this idea.

Basically what I intend to do is to set up massage chairs in a few popular retail locations around the area that I live.

I am thinking about purchasing a chair from "the back rubber". google it, i am not yet able to post links, but they have a website.

Now, my local mall already has massage chairs installed. But as far as I know, that's it. I have 4 potential locations I am thinking about: the local WalMart, Fred Meyers, Target, and the Airport. Of course there are many other possible locations too.

I was wondering if you guys think this would be a smart investment and business idea?

I have not yet called, but it seems like the investment would be around $2000-7000 per site. Let's say I only want to install 2 chairs per site, hopefully that will make it in the 2000-3000 range.

The question is, how much can I realistically expect each chair locatation to make a month? The website claims each chair to usually make 350-400 per month. I think this is probably true if i can secure good locations, even with the economy, i would be willing to bet that most people are willing to get a quick, relaxing massage, even though it is a luxury, people are still always willing to pay for a cheap, instant gratification such as a massage.

I could pretty easily secure a loan on the initial investment, i know a wealthy family friend who i bet would be willing to help me out. and it wouldn't take too long for each chair to be paid off

I am wondering if you guys have any thoughts basically, if you think i should go ahead with this. I am always leary about advertisements on websites such as the one i'd be buying the chair from, but it really seems like a great opportunity. As someone who dreams of becoming an entrepeneur, but seeing as i have basically no money to start a business right now, this seems like a great low-investment way to start building a passive income stream.

Edit: well, i actually think i found a better place to purchase the chairs from. Google "the back massager". seems to be better prices

[dgold]

I have seen this type of setup often in airport and have used them in the past. I think those massage chairs make a whole lot of sense in airports as some people are looking for a bit of confort between flights. If your local airport doesnt have a setup like this at the moment it is probably a good opportunity.

However I am wondering if something like this could work in a Wall-Mart type environment?It could possibly work but I would be worried that this might not be the right target market. People don't have as much time to kill or money to spend in a Wall-Mart vs Airport.

Also I was wondering what kind of comission are you planning to offer to the owners of the real estate? How do you plan to approach them to get deals going?

[bizdev]

My local mall has had these massage chairs for a few years. In all that time I've never once seen anyone put money into them. There are always people sitting on them, but not paying for the massage feature.

[John Holloway]

I run a coin operated massage chair business in the UK with over 300 units in airports, shopping centres, motorway service stations etc, this business idea is great but you need to run it as efficiently as possible, my first piece of advice is to disregard the franchising idea, you will be far better to run this for yourself (source the chairs direct through China or Japan - it will be far cheaper and you will get a better standard of chair, try globalsources.com or google coin/bill operated massage chairs in china, they will allow you to buy sample quantities and you should expect to pay somewhere in the region of 500 USD per chair plus shipping costs), it is also very important to get the location right, ideally you want the chairs to be centrally located in high footfall areas where people have lots of dwell time (airports & shopping centres are ideal as people typically spend 1-2 hours in these venues and are more likely to use the chairs), a turnover of 300-400 USD per month per chair should not be an unrealistic figure, we have some chairs that take less than that and some that take more each month (£1=$1), i would suggest that an airport is a better place to start as people expect to see massage chairs there, in the UK we always prefer to place the chairs airside (beyond security control) as the dwell time and leisure spend is greater, but i don't know your airport and it may be different.
I started my business 5 years ago with 2 massage chairs and have grown it organically (no development loans) to over 300 - we are now the largest operators in the UK and deal with all of the major venue operators - so i have a little knowledge in this area .themassagechaircompany.co.uk.
I hope this helps!

[MAaron]

... set up massage chairs in a few popular retail locations ...

A few years ago, a company set up a type of rental, where he delivered the massage chairs for use in business environments. The business wanted the health benefits for its workers, as a type of work-break activity.

[jake_russell]

I do not see anyway that walmart will let you set up in their building. If you can great but I doubt it, unless you rent out one of those store type places in the front of super walmarts. Go for the airport or mall if you can

[veikoh]

They are in shopping centers in Barcelona as well but I ahven't ever seen anyone putting any money in. And they are usually occupied by someones just sitting there so if anyone even want's a massage, they can't sit on them I do not think they will make enough return.

[John Holloway]

When we install new massage chairs into a venue that has never had them before, we always get comments like "nobody will use them" "i see people sitting on them but never paying" and then we surprise them by showing the cash take!
The reality is that you will get people sitting on them and not using the massage function (it is after all a comfortable looking chair) and the chairs will be left unused for large parts of the day, but they will achieve a consistent turnover each month and it should be enough for you to make it pay!!
Also the rental idea into offices is a great way of creating an additional income stream, make sure you get the office to pay you a fixed rent (we charge £100 day for short term rentals and £225 per month for long term rentals of over 12 months) and for the massage chairs to be free to use for staff, that way it works for everyone - don't be tempted to install them on a profit share basis, it will not work!!

[pcbres16]

I am not an expert on this subject by any means, however I love the idea of setting one up in the airport. The Walmart I think would be more trouble than what it is worth, due to the fact that that type of clientele don't really have a lot of time and money to spend on that, as previously mentioned. What about the possibility of setting up at a university. Granted, time is of the essence to students like me, but towards the end of the day I would gladly pay $10-15 for a 10-15 minute massage if it was available in the student center, or gym.

Just some food for thought there.

[James-sjc]

don't be tempted to install them on a profit share basis, it will not work!!

Hi John
By this do you mean that when you install your chairs in various shopping centres etc do you pay these a monthly rental per chair rather than splitting the profits 50/50 ?

Thanks
James

[Chelsea99]

I would like to suggest might be help or and advice if this was not been set up.It would be good near on gym area were tired fellas would like to take a massage that would be great! A brand new massage like Panasonic or Sanyo will be suit for a long lasting durability.For as low as 15-20 dollars.Just to get the attention of the customer first then you can decide if you want to make it higher.

[altwebdesign]

i find those chairs irresistable!

[Southern_Lenders]

I like the chairs but I wouldnt use one in a public setting. I wouldn't be able to relax if I knew people were watching me, waiting on me..or whatever.. Plus the mall noise... no thx.

If you had it where it was walled off and PRIVATE from the crowd, and noise dampered so I didn't have to hear all the people.. maybe have some relaxing music in the background, then yes, I'd check it out.

[Southern_Lenders]

I like the chairs but I wouldnt use one in a public setting. I wouldn't be able to relax if I knew people were watching me, waiting on me..or whatever.. Plus the mall noise... no thx.

If you had it where it was walled off and PRIVATE from the crowd, and noise dampered so I didn't have to hear all the people.. maybe have some relaxing music in the background, then yes, I'd check it out.

[Southern_Lenders]

I dont know why it posted twice. Owner of this site still hasnt fixed this issue I see. Someone delete the double post pls.