Teresa Fox will open the “skincare without second guessing” franchise with locations in Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, and Delray Beach, citing the South Florida region as a booming market for a brand at the intersection of beauty and wellness.
Heyday, the fast-growing, New York-based skincare franchise revolutionizing the industry through personalized facial services, is changing the way people think about their skin. As the brand continues to expand its presence across the country, a growing number of potential franchisees are jumping on the bandwagon to bring a location to their own community in the new year.
One such owner is Teresa Fox, Heyday’s newest franchisee, who recently signed a three-unit deal to bring locations to Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, and Delray Beach..
“Downtown Fort Lauderdale is my backyard; I look at it from my window,” Fox said. “It’s a beach community, a tourist destination, and a big cruise hotspot, making it ideal for a Heyday location. People in Fort Lauderdale are health and beauty conscious and they want to take care of themselves. I’m confident that the concept will immediately resonate here.”
Wanting to invest in herself, Fox’s own research is what led her to the skincare industry and ultimately Heyday.
After taking a corporate buyout from Aflac earlier this year, Fox was approached with many corporate opportunities, as well as sales territory development positions that didn’t really get her excited. Looking ahead to the future, she and her husband Marty, a surgeon, decided that the best way to create meaningful opportunities within their professional lives was to invest in themselves. With a renewed sense of excitement, Fox began researching franchising opportunities and came across some fascinating statistics related to the health and beauty industry.
“I read McKinsey reports, talked to industry executives and did my own independent research,” Fox said. “My research led me to the skincare industry, and I looked to see what franchises existed. I was surprised to find that there wasn’t one key player that stood out, until I came across Heyday. From there, I reached out to Heyday. Early on in my discussions, it was clear that I aligned with the brand’s values. Heyday believes in the service-profit chain — employees are the first customer. If the employees are happy and empowered, the work feels meaningful to them, and they're compensated fairly, that energy translates throughout the customer journey and creates loyalty with your customers.”
Fox emphasized that when entering a franchising agreement, the franchisee is not just selecting a concept but also a partner — a group of people that hopefully share the same sort of ideals. Heyday more than aligned this aspect for her, and the rest came down to logistics.
“Teresa brings a New York go-getter attitude paired with undeniable personality and business acumen,” said Sean Bock, Heyday’s president of franchising. “As she prepares to bring three new locations into the South Florida market, I have no doubt that she will see success in her efforts. She has roots in her community and determination to thrive in this business, and she has a team behind her all the way.”
Sunny days and a wellness-focused community make South Florida an ideal market for Heyday.
When it comes to skincare, Fox stressed that “Heyday is at the intersection of beauty and wellness,” providing a solution for so many people because of its personalized and tailored services. What’s more, Fox recognized the fact that, in South Florida, there is an undeniable focus and sensitivity around the way that people look, paired with a general focus on wellness that creates an immediate customer base for the brand.
“Fort Lauderdale is sunny 250 days a year, so we have to be concerned about our sun exposure here. We live in a place where there is year-round outdoor activity, but there’s also a hyper focus on beauty,” Fox said. “People are concerned about skin health from a clinical perspective because it's the largest organ in your body. But secondly, the social scene in the community is thriving, and everybody wants their skin to look their absolute best.”
Heyday’s accessible offerings and targeted real estate strategy set it apart from competitors.
Fox has always been a fan of facials and understands that the “boutique” experience may not appeal to all customers based on experiences they may have had at previous spas in the past. As Fox explains, Heyday “takes the facial experience out of the spa and makes it part of your overall routine.”
The brand wants to be accessible, and it works closely with real estate developers to place locations on first-floor entryways where pedestrians can easily meander in while out running errands. These quick, under-one-hour facials are meant to be part of a larger routine and not an immense time commitment.
“For example, one type of client we want to target is parents after they drop their kids off at school. Maybe they’re going to go to a barre class, then to a Whole Foods for lunch. They can then go into Heyday and get a 50-minute facial; it's part of their errands,” Fox said.
“Today, what I'm excited about is offering quality jobs to people and giving them meaningful work,” Fox said. “My primary focus is building a team and helping them grow and work on their professional development. As we get ready to launch, that is the number-one priority but more broadly, I expect this to be a long-term career for me.”
Heyday’s startup costs range between $768,300 to $1,012,300, depending on which market the store is located. Other factors like design, configuration and labor costs will also impact the total investment. Click here to see the full cost breakdown.
