Over 200 Franchise Stores Nationwide... Price Increase This Year Following Last Year
Head Office: "Unavoidable Measure Due to Continued Inflation and Labor Cost Rise"
Apgujeong Branch Price Raised on 15th This Month... Hapjeong and Sinsa Station Branches Increased Last Month
A price increase notice is posted at 'The Foot Shop' Hapjeong Station branch, a massage franchise. Photo by Moon Hyewon, Asia Economy
[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Hyewon] Office worker A, who had a stiff neck and shoulders and sore wrist joints from staring at the computer monitor and typing on the keyboard all day at work, visited a massage shop he often stopped by on his way home. However, he was troubled after seeing a notice about a price increase. It was already burdensome as nothing had escaped rising costs, from public utility fees to food and dining prices, and bank loan interest rates. Although he could use a prepaid membership to receive services at the pre-increase price, the hourly price after the increase rose by 10,000 KRW, making him reluctant to purchase an additional membership.
As consumer prices for food, electricity, gas, and transportation are rising across the board, service industries such as massage shops have also joined the ranks of price increases.
According to the franchise industry on the 6th, ‘The Foot Shop,’ a massage company with about 200 franchise stores nationwide, recently raised its prices. The increase was about 10,000 KRW per hour on average, with some courses rising by up to 20,000 KRW.
For the most commonly received course, the ‘Foot Massage (60 minutes)’ service, the member price increased by 9,000 KRW from 39,000 KRW to 48,000 KRW. The ‘Aroma Rear’ course (1 hour), which uses aroma oil to relax muscles on the back, waist, and other rear parts of the body, rose by 10,000 KRW from 55,000 KRW to 65,000 KRW.
The ‘Foot 30 minutes + Body 60 minutes’ course increased by 13,000 KRW from 60,000 KRW to 73,000 KRW, and the ‘Emperor Massage,’ which uses aroma to care for the entire body from head to toe over 120 minutes, rose by 20,000 KRW from 100,000 KRW to 120,000 KRW.
The headquarters stated that this was an unavoidable measure due to the ongoing burden of rising prices and labor costs.
The price increase was set to take effect from the 25th of last month, but the timing and price increases for each service vary slightly by franchise location at the discretion of each franchise owner. For example, the Apgujeong branch in Seoul plans to raise prices from the 15th of this month, allowing time to notify existing members in advance to ease the burden of sudden price hikes. The Hapjeong Station branch in Seoul raised prices from the 27th of last month, while the Sinsa Station and National Assembly Station branches began price increases from the 25th of last month.
An anonymous therapist explained, "Therapists receive incentives per service hour, and without these price increases, their earnings would be low, causing many to leave for restaurants that pay a steady monthly salary of 3 million KRW. Even after teaching massage skills, staff keep leaving, making it impossible to serve customers. The headquarters is trying to prevent staff turnover through price increases."
Meanwhile, The Foot Shop is a foot care specialized franchise that opened its first directly managed store in Hongdae in 2008 and currently has about 200 franchise stores nationwide.
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