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NON-SURGICAL AESTHETIC INDUSTRY IS EXPLODING
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MEDICAL SPA DATA IS IN: THE INDUSTRY IS BOOMING By ALEX R. THIERSCH
The aesthetic industry—and particularly the non-surgical aesthetic industry—is exploding. I’ve had many conversations over the past year—with stakeholders, thought-leaders, representatives, investors, doctors, surgeons, hedge fund managers, CEOs, startups, you name it from all corners of medical aesthetics—and all of them marvel at the incredible opportunity that lies before us. You can feel it. There’s an energy in the hallways of surgery conferences that didn’t exist five years ago. Deals are being made; money is being made.
Alex R. Thiersch is the founder and director of the American Med Spa Association (AmSpa), an organization created for the express purpose of providing comprehensive, relevant and timely legal and business resources for the medical aesthetic industry throughout the United States.
IT’S A GREAT TIME TO BE IN THIS INDUSTRY. WHAT IS A MEDICAL SPA? I speak throughout the United States about medical spas, and one thing that is continually mentioned is how clunky the term “medical spa” sounds. It doesn’t really fit what the industry has become. Nevertheless, the term “medical spa” is the term that has prevailed. Consumers use it, mass publications use it, and the industry uses it. Despite efforts to redefine it—the term “med-aesthetic” continues to be thrown around, as well as “non-invasive aesthetic medicine”—the name “medical spa” has become the standard. See our Medical Spa FAQ for more information.
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It’s important to recognize that the medical spa industry has become an industry unto itself that needs its own definition, its own resources, and its own data. It can no longer be considered a subset of plastic surgery or cosmetic dermatology, especially because more than 70% of the doctors in this industry are noncore. And while there is a growing overlap with the spa industry in terms of customer service and marketing, medical spas have vastly different price points, more advanced available technology, and unique legal and regulatory challenges. An industry that, by itself, generates nearly $4 billion in revenue a year; that has doubled in size during the past five years; and that projects to double again by 2020 is clearly worthy of its own categorization.
NOVEMBER ISSUE 2017 • MEDI CAL SPAS
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Alex can be contacted at alex@americanmedspa.org
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HOW CLUNKY THE TERM ‘MEDICAL SPA’ SOUNDED
2017 MEDICAL SPA STATE OF THE INDUSTRY REPORT LAUNCHES!
2017 MEDICAL SPA STATE OF THE INDUSTRY STUDY IS LIVE!
Industry revenues are rising by double digits; profit margins are rising as businesses become more sophisticated; franchises—yes franchises—are taking root; and, like it or not, entrepreneurs and non-core doctors are flooding into the market by the tens of thousands.
THE IMPORTANCE OF INDUSTRY DATA When AmSpa was founded in 2013 its main business was legal compliance — the idea of producing statistics and data was never contemplated. And as AmSpa grew, so did its responsibility to the industry as a whole. It is not only AmSpa’s desire for the medical spa industry to be compliant and safe, but it also wants the industry to be successful.
Even determining how many medical spas there were is a challenge given the lack of defining statistics (there are 4,200, by the way). There were so many questions to be answered:
Where are the most medical spas located? What types of revenue and profit margins are they making? What do they pay their staff? What procedures are the most Putting together the 2017 Medical Spa State of the popular? What does the future hold? Industry Report was the logical and natural next step. Nothing like this had been done before for this The answers became clear once the AmSpa team industry. Sure, there have been bits and pieces that started searching the Internet, region by region, in an could be found here and there, but there was no data attempt to count and identify all the medical spas in relating solely to medical spas. the country (yes, we really did this). MEDI CAL SPAS • NOVEMBER ISSUE 2017
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NEVERTHELESS THE TERM ‘MEDICAL SPA’ IS REVAILING What became apparent was twofold: 1. Medical spas are distinct businesses, separate and apart from surgery or dermatology practices; and 2. All medical spas typically use the terms “medical spa,” “aesthetics,” or “laser” in their title. Chances are that if you have one of those phrases in your business name, you were included in the report. And that’s where data comes in. Although medical spas have been growing in number and sophistication, one thing that has been glaringly absent was business and industry data. There was no baseline by which the industry could measure itself, no measuring stick to gauge what was actually happening. Yes, it’s well known that the market has been growing, but before any business segment can take the next step and truly begin to scale upward, it needs its own metrics to make cost-efficient decisions following through on what is working and discarding what is not. All established industries have data, but the medical spa industry did not — until now. So with all that, it is my privilege and pleasure to present to you AmSpa’s 2017 Medical Spa State of the Industry Report. The purpose of the report is simple: Capture and publish baseline data about the medical spa industry so that practitioners, business owners, investors and consumers have a frame of reference moving forward.
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"In God we trust. All others must bring data." -W. Edwards Deming, American Statistician The medical spa industry is stronger today than possibly imagined five years ago. It can be measured in billions. It is growing faster than the general economy. It is churning out millionaires left and right. And it doesn’t appear to be slowing down. I would be remiss if I didn’t give a sincere thanks to everyone who was a part of making this project a reality. The AmSpa team—Cathy, Eric and Aly—worked tirelessly to make this happen and none of this would have been possible without their dedication and commitment. John LaRosa of MarketData was instrumental in compiling and analyzing the data, and certainly he and his team deserve a huge amount of thanks. Additionally, Modern Aesthetics magazine was a terrific partner and sponsor of the report. But most of all, none of this was possible without the many medical spa professionals who took time out of their busy schedules to provide us with data and insight into their business.
NOVEMBER ISSUE 2017 • MEDI CAL SPAS
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THE NAME ‘MEDICAL SPA’ HAS BECOME THE STANDARD 2017 MEDICAL SPA STATE OF THE INDUSTRY REPORT If you're looking for data on the medical spa industry, which is fast approaching a total value of $4 billion, look no further. The AmSpa 2017 Medical Spa State of the Industry Report provides business, operations, staffing, and legal statistics and analysis of one of the fastest growing industries in the United States. FIND THE ANSWERS TO YOUR MEDICAL SPA BUSINESS QUESTIONS. What are the top revenue generating treatments in a medical spa? What is the average salary for medical spa aestheticians and nurses? What are the average medical spa revenue and profit margin? How often do medical spas have a doctor on-site? DON'T MAKE DECISIONS IN THE DARK More and more medical spas are popping up across the country and competition is increasing in this fast-growing industry. The AmSpa 2017 Medical Spa State of the Industry Report is your tool to make data-driven decisions to boost the profitability and long-term sustainability of your business. HOW DO YOU STACK UP AGAINST THE TYPICAL MEDICAL SPA? 70% of medical spa visits come from repeat patients. 52% of all medical spa patients are between the ages of 35-54. 77% of all medical spas are in some way affiliated with a physician. TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR THE 2017 MEDICAL SPA STATE OF THE INDUSTRY REPORT I. Introduction II. Executive Summary III. Medical Spa Industry Size IV. The Laser Market V. Treatments and Facilities VI. Operations and Demographics
VII. Ownership, Compensation and Staffing VIII. Financials IX. Marketing X. Legal and Regulatory XI. Medical Spa Forecast 2017 – 2022 XII. Methodology
For more information on the AmSpa 2017 Medical Spa State of the Industry Report visit: www.americanmedspa.org, contact info@americanmedspa.org or 312-981-0993 MEDI CAL SPAS • NOVEMBER ISSUE 2017
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