an interview with David Wagner

Designing the Spa Experience

The name, Juut, comes from the Japanese word, "Juuten" which means to refill. As a proper name, Juut can mean "very idealistic and generous, with strong desire to uplift humanity and serve others."

For David Wagner, Juut means to replenish customers, community, team members, earth.

He smiled like he had it figured out when I asked him about the spa experience he was creating at Juut. "We asked our customers, 'What do we do for you?' Over and over again we heard the same thing. 'In my life I give to my spouse, my kids, my friends. Here I can get recharged--filled up again--ready to go out and face the world.' Our customers come here to be replenished."

There is an element of "surrender" to the spa experience at Juut. Lay back, relax, let someone else take care of you, even if it's only for a little while. Even if you're just there to get your haircut, you start with a hair wash, lying in a reclining chair that could pass for an inclined first class airline seat. It feels wonderful.

David is obviously well versed on the latest trends, but his focus is on the basic mission of replenishment. "The spa industry has got this fascination with new treatments. But when I read the consumer surveys, the number one reason that people want to go to a spa is to be pampered and to de-stress. It's that basic. Of course, once they've gotten used to being pampered, they want more results; they start looking at the various treatment options."

Spa goers range from teenagers to octogenarians. It's a challenge to any service provider. But the "sweet spot" of the demographics for spas is the age range from 30 to 50, professional people who have made time at a spa an integral part of their busy lives. I asked David about the trends for these consumers.

"They're more concerned with spur of the moment stress relief. They're not able to plan a day at the spa in advance. They finish their project on Thursday and they want a massage on Thursday night. What we have noticed is that they'll call in for massage, and if a massage isn't available, they'll have a facial for the same reason. They're not necessarily having challenges with their skin; they're looking at it as a stress relieving treatment."

"What about any changes in the demographics of men and women at the spas, husbands and wives going together, things like that?"

"We've been in business long enough now so that we're seeing more mother and daughters having spa visits as rites of passage. We've heard that over and over again. Whether they're 13 or 21, mothers want do something with their daughters that's really special. It happened here last week. One of our clients called and said, 'This is a really big deal and I want everything to be perfect.' She's never had anything like this. She wanted makeup done for her daughter who was a 13 year old. She wanted her to experience a facial and a massage and a pedicure, basically a day with her mom. As detached as teenagers sometimes get, it was something that she really wanted to share wit h her daughter. And we have seen that time and time again, mothers bringing their daughter to share a pampering day right after the birth of a child."

For most of its history, Juut was a Twin Cities operation that looked a lot like most other high-end day spas. There were six locations--one each in downtown Minneapolis and St. Paul and four in the suburbs. Then in 1998, David took the Juut concept west with an acquisition of a spa in Palo Alto, the heart of Silicon Valley. He is planning an addition to his collection with a Juut SalonSpa in downtown San Francisco.

We discussed two new suburban "concept spas" that were opened in 2000. One is in Wayzetta, west of Minneapolis and the other is in Woodbury, east of St. Paul.

"We're creating environments where people can come to be replenished and that is taking us to places where no one would have considered opening a spa. Our Woodbury location is in a grocery store. The owner went to Europe to develop a high experience grocery market. He developed the space and leased out areas to the best baker, best cheese shop, etc., that he could find. Right in the middle of this little 'village' is a two-story building. There's an Aveda store on the ground floor and our spa is on the second floor. Pretty soon you'll see spas in places like Barnes & Noble and wherever consumers shop."

As we discussed the Wayzetta location, my ears perked up. At last! Someone in the spa industry is really paying attention to the aspect of a spa visit that everyone says is the least appealing--the waiting area.

"Once you check in, there's often going to be some time before you can actually get into the spa area, so we thought a lot about what we could do instead of giving the consumer just another lobby waiting space. We developed a bistro concept that combines a place that is practical while addressing the way we want the customer to feel just before they begin their spa treatment. You can check your e mail or surf the Internet. You can get something to eat, a light spa lunch. There's a prep chef teaching people how to make whatever he's serving. We serve high vibrational waters from all over the world. So, for whatever length of time that you wait after check in, you start in a space with very good energy, maybe coming down a notch or two from the speed you were at when you arrived. "

The next step from the bistro area is the spa waiting area. It's a shift from a warm engaging environment to a much more private space. You get changed into a robe; the lights are soft; relax in a comfortable chair with a foot soak. It doesn 't get any better.

GOING TO THE CONSUMER

THE PERSONAL JOURNEY