Massage Franchises Find Footing

The Fresno Bee:

The new Massage Envy in Visalia is part of a growing number of massage franchises around the nation.

The business opened last month near Kohl’s on South Mooney Boulevard at Walnut Avenue.

Although Visalia and other Valley cities are full of independently owned massage businesses, massage as a franchise is a relatively new concept.

Franchise owners buy into an already-established business model with a parent company that takes care of marketing and training for a fee. At least 8 franchises offer massage nationwide, and Massage Envy is the biggest, according to FranPR, a public relations firm specializing in franchising.

The company started franchising in 2003, and now has 421 stores across the nation.

A Massage Envy opened in Clovis in December 2006 in the Target shopping center at Willow and Herndon avenues. It now has more than 800 members.

2 more locations are slated to open in Fresno but have yet to be sold to franchisees, according to the franchise developers.

The franchises accept walk-ins, are open until 10 p.m. on weekdays and open on weekends.

Massage Envy operates on a membership basis. Customers pay membership dues of $59 a month, which pays for a monthly one-hour massage. Additional massages cost a minimum of $39.

Owner Shannon Cocagne, who graduated from Redwood High School in Visalia, is the franchise owner. She now lives in Sacramento.

The business employs 14 massage therapists, both male and female. The business features two couples rooms for simultaneous massages. Read more.

Photo: Christian Parley / The Bee.