Hand & Stone's growth plans discussed in St. Petersburg Times

Hand & Stone was featured in a well read retail column in the St. Petersburg Times discussing the brand’s new growth plans in the St. Petersburg and Tampa market. Hand & Stone’s Regional Developer, Rob Beers, discussed some of these distinguishing factors that make Hand & Stone unique in the market such as offering facials, waxing and month-to-month membership. The column discusses the fact that Massage Envy now has some new competition and that Hand & Stone is just starting to speed up its development. Check out a portion of the article below or read the full story here.

Missing cows, cheap Rays gear, new massage competition and other happenings from the retail world
By Mark Albright, Times Staff Writer

Hand & Stone, a startup chain from Toms River, N.J., recently opened locations in St. Petersburg and Palm Harbor and plans two more in Tampa.

In addition to $49-an-hour massages, Hand & Stone sets itself apart from Massage Envy, which has 10 local shops, by offering facials, waxing and month-to-month membership.

"Fitness centers don't sell yearlong contracts anymore, and we intend to spread that to our industry," said Rob Beers, Florida developer for Hand & Stone. (Read More)

Meet Our Florida Regional Developer, Rob Beers

How Rob Got Started With Hand & Stone…

Prior to signing on with Hand & Stone, Rob worked with and owned a few different businesses in the real estate industry and sports memorabilia market. He owned a different franchise focusing on specialty sports & celebrity retail and collector’s items for 11 years, gaining extensive knowledge in franchising and business ownership. He also has served as director for a small real estate firm in the Washington DC area since 2000.
A year before Rob sold his memorabilia franchise, he decided he wanted to look for another growing industry; the next big player in franchising. Rob not only wanted to own a franchise location but he also wanted to get involved in the growth aspect of the business and play a larger part in building a brand nationwide.

After searching for a year, Rob discovered Hand & Stone, which had just been introduced to the franchising world, having only two locations at the time. Seeing that the brand had tremendous growth potential, a superior, quality product, and a strong executive team, Rob felt that Hand & Stone would be a great concept to expand throughout Florida. Rob signed on as the Regional Developer for Central & Southwest Florida and opened his own franchise in October 2008 in Kissimmee.

Something Interesting About Rob’s Story…

As the Regional Developer for Central Florida, Rob has been responsible for adding four more Hand & Stone spas in his market; Lake Mary, Palm Harbor, St. Petersburg, and Winter Springs. Two more will be opening in the Orlando market in the next six months. Focusing on growing the brand throughout Central Florida, Rob plans to develop 10-15 new locations in the cities of Orlando, Tampa, Sarasota, Ft Myers and Naples. Passionate about the brand, Rob has taken an active role in providing support to his fellow franchisees in the Central Florida region and focuses on creating a team environment.

Where Specifically Did Rob Learn About Hand & Stone?

Rob started to research various franchises while investing in a real estate company. Rob searched through the internet, spoke with existing franchisees and researched concepts from top to bottom for an entire year. After his year of searching, he felt that Hand & Stone was exactly the opportunity that he was looking for and outmatched all competing brands that he looked into. Although it was a risk at the time, he believed in the concept and was passionate about spearheading the brand’s growth in Florida.