What’s your background? I’ve been in consulting for 16 years including senior manager roles at global business consultancy firms Andersen and BearingPoint. I’ve been involved with the modernisation of major multinational companies in varying sectors – from aeronautics to consumer goods. For three years, I focused on healthcare organisations, including the healthcare ministry in France and several French hospitals.
My work and travels eventually led me to the wellness industry, where I thought my experiences of project management in complex environments would help. I spent three years as managing director of the Swiss spa and skincare brand After the Rain with a view to developing it internationally.
How did you hear about evianSpa? I crossed paths with Laurent Houel in early 2012 when he was finalising the first evianSpa concept in Tokyo (see p30). I was immediately taken by the concept and intrigued by his ambitions to roll it out worldwide. He had the marketing and business development expertise in the luxury sector and a deep knowledge of evian’s core values; while I had the spa experience and business development/project management expertise.
I set up the Global Project & Spa Advisory consultancy and evian is my first client.
What will your work involve? I’ll be focusing on the international development of evianSpa. Initially, I helped to put the finishing touches to the concept and business plan and to set up the development strategy. As part of the development process, I’m now setting up prospective meetings with hotel partners that will hopefully lead to projects and implementing the evianSpa brand. As part of the licence we’ll provide all the necessary support from understanding the concept to treatment menu and therapist training and operating protocols. Management support is also available via my consultancy if it’s required.
It all depends on the hotel’s needs. Our common goal is to secure consistency and quality of the evianSpa brand. We can work with a hotel to implement an evianSpa that fits with its specific positioning – whether its introducing more locally-inspired treatments, therapies for couples or children, or working on something that can increase a guest’s length of stay.
Will evianSpa be your sole client? Not exactly. Launching a worldwide spa concept is a huge project, which requires deep involvement and working in lots of different areas. So, evian is the main focus for Global Project & Spa Advisory, but there are some other possibilities in the pipeline.
Wellness is a young and exciting industry. There are lots of challenges, especially the growing need for delivering high-quality experiences consistently and developing financially sustainable businesses. But there are also lots of opportunities.
What’s exciting about evianSpa? The arrival of evian in the wellness industry, with a new and fresh approach is clearly exciting and it generates a real business opportunity. The idea of making the concept relevant to different markets and cultures is what really inspires me.
Read more from this issue of Attractions Management magazine
View contents of Attractions Management 2012 issue 4
Interview: Laurent Houel
Evian's global brand development
director tells Katie Barnes about the
group's new evianSpa licence concept
that's set for a strategic global rollout
Promotional feature: Value Proposition
If you're thinking of investing in a spa development bigger than 300sq m,
a feasibility study – at a cost of only US$10k-US$18k – can reveal the
business model most likely to succeed.
Research: Work it out
Katherine Johnston reveals key
recommendations following a
much-needed study on global spa
management training
Top team: Miraval
The team that created the new spa at
Miraval shared a bold vision as Liz
Terry discovered on her visit
Family matters: The Brepohls
Natural medicine is the focus at
Lapinha: one of Brazil's original
medical spas. Neena Dhillon talks to
the founding family
The making of...: A massage table
Up to 18 million parts are needed for
a year's production of massage tables.
Lisa Starr takes an ‘undercover' look
at just what goes into making this
industry staple
Research: The cold war
Meditation and exercise can
significantly reduce sick days taken
due to colds and flu
An opportunity to reimagine one of the UK’s most recognisable towers has been formally
opened by Rivington Hark, as St Johns Beacon invites operators and partners to shape its
next phase. [more...]
What’s your background? I’ve been in consulting for 16 years including senior manager roles at global business consultancy firms Andersen and BearingPoint. I’ve been involved with the modernisation of major multinational companies in varying sectors – from aeronautics to consumer goods. For three years, I focused on healthcare organisations, including the healthcare ministry in France and several French hospitals.
My work and travels eventually led me to the wellness industry, where I thought my experiences of project management in complex environments would help. I spent three years as managing director of the Swiss spa and skincare brand After the Rain with a view to developing it internationally.
How did you hear about evianSpa? I crossed paths with Laurent Houel in early 2012 when he was finalising the first evianSpa concept in Tokyo (see p30). I was immediately taken by the concept and intrigued by his ambitions to roll it out worldwide. He had the marketing and business development expertise in the luxury sector and a deep knowledge of evian’s core values; while I had the spa experience and business development/project management expertise.
I set up the Global Project & Spa Advisory consultancy and evian is my first client.
What will your work involve? I’ll be focusing on the international development of evianSpa. Initially, I helped to put the finishing touches to the concept and business plan and to set up the development strategy. As part of the development process, I’m now setting up prospective meetings with hotel partners that will hopefully lead to projects and implementing the evianSpa brand. As part of the licence we’ll provide all the necessary support from understanding the concept to treatment menu and therapist training and operating protocols. Management support is also available via my consultancy if it’s required.
It all depends on the hotel’s needs. Our common goal is to secure consistency and quality of the evianSpa brand. We can work with a hotel to implement an evianSpa that fits with its specific positioning – whether its introducing more locally-inspired treatments, therapies for couples or children, or working on something that can increase a guest’s length of stay.
Will evianSpa be your sole client? Not exactly. Launching a worldwide spa concept is a huge project, which requires deep involvement and working in lots of different areas. So, evian is the main focus for Global Project & Spa Advisory, but there are some other possibilities in the pipeline.
Wellness is a young and exciting industry. There are lots of challenges, especially the growing need for delivering high-quality experiences consistently and developing financially sustainable businesses. But there are also lots of opportunities.
What’s exciting about evianSpa? The arrival of evian in the wellness industry, with a new and fresh approach is clearly exciting and it generates a real business opportunity. The idea of making the concept relevant to different markets and cultures is what really inspires me.
Read more from this issue of Attractions Management magazine
View contents of Attractions Management 2012 issue 4
Interview: Laurent Houel
Evian's global brand development
director tells Katie Barnes about the
group's new evianSpa licence concept
that's set for a strategic global rollout
Promotional feature: Value Proposition
If you're thinking of investing in a spa development bigger than 300sq m,
a feasibility study – at a cost of only US$10k-US$18k – can reveal the
business model most likely to succeed.
Research: Work it out
Katherine Johnston reveals key
recommendations following a
much-needed study on global spa
management training
Top team: Miraval
The team that created the new spa at
Miraval shared a bold vision as Liz
Terry discovered on her visit
Family matters: The Brepohls
Natural medicine is the focus at
Lapinha: one of Brazil's original
medical spas. Neena Dhillon talks to
the founding family
The making of...: A massage table
Up to 18 million parts are needed for
a year's production of massage tables.
Lisa Starr takes an ‘undercover' look
at just what goes into making this
industry staple
Research: The cold war
Meditation and exercise can
significantly reduce sick days taken
due to colds and flu
A new immersive attraction designed to transport visitors into the final hours of ancient Pompeii
is preparing to open near the world-famous archaeological site in southern Italy.
Experience design company, BRC Imagination Arts, has completed a transition that sees founder
Bob Rogers pass ownership of the business to four long-serving senior executives, while
remaining actively involved with the company.
Movie Park Germany has opened a new Paramount Pictures-themed attraction as part of its 30th
anniversary celebrations, using immersive storytelling and adaptive reuse to reinforce the park’s
longstanding “Hollywood in Germany” positioning.
Therme Manchester’s 28-acre development, which will include interconnected glass pavilions
that measure 65,000sq m, will be the largest bathing and wellbeing attraction in the world once
complete, according to prof David Russell, CEO of Therme UK.
Efteling has opened Hooghmoed, a new family drop tower designed to broaden the appeal of its
recently launched Sirene Island themed area and introduce younger visitors to thrill attractions.
A proposed Puy du Fou development near Bicester and Universal Destinations and Experiences’
planned resort in Bedford are emerging as part of a wider transformation of the Oxford–
Cambridge Growth Corridor into a major centre for UK leisure and tourism inv
Shedd Aquarium has opened the Immersion Theater developed in partnership with SimEx-
Iwerks, as part of a wider strategy to enhance the guest experience and create additional
revenue opportunities.
The UK government has announced a temporary reduction in VAT on visitor attractions and
children’s meals as part of a summer cost-of-living support package designed to stimulate the
visitor economy and encourage family days out.
As designer Yinka Ilori prepares for his first solo gallery show in London, he speaks exclusively
to CLADmag about his mission to spread joy, the power of play, and his bold approach to using
colour (including the colours you won’t see in his work).
The government of Thailand is exploring plans for a THB300bn (£6.3bn, US$8.3bn)
entertainment complex in the country’s Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), with officials
proposing a large-scale theme park and sports destination as part of a broader tourism and
economic development strategy.
An opportunity to reimagine one of the UK’s most recognisable towers has been formally
opened by Rivington Hark, as St Johns Beacon invites operators and partners to shape its
next phase. [more...]
