Caci - Facing The Future With Confidence

Early in 2008, when Treasury declared New Zealand to be in an economic recession, Karen Chapman was already committed to opening her Caci clinic in Pukekohe, south of Auckland. It might have seemed a bad omen at the time but in the two years since, Karen’s business has thrived – it has grown from two to five staff and Karen is now seriously considering where to open her next Caci clinic.

Caci clinic was established in New Zealand 15 years ago and offer a range of treatments in three main areas: appearance medicine (Botox and fillers), facial rejuvenation and hair removal, as well as traditional beauty therapy services. There are currently 24 clinics with plans to increase this number throughout the country over the next few years.  

The only name worth considering

For Karen, a 35-year-old former property developer and real estate agent, the path that led to Caci was business all the way. ‘After three years in real estate I wanted to get back to the challenge and freedom of being in charge of my own business,’ she says. ‘What I didn’t want to do was start up something from scratch and I was sure there must be a franchise out there to suit me. I also knew I wanted to invest in an industry with huge growth potential. With these objectives foremost in my mind, a process of elimination took me to the appearance enhancement industry and in that market the only name worth considering in New Zealand is Caci.

‘Being a woman, I obviously understand the importance of appearance and know that concerns about how you look don’t diminish with age – if anything, the opposite holds true. Much of the success of my Caci clinic has been built on ‘baby boomers’, and if you give them the results they hope for, people of all ages and from all walks of life will invest in looking and feeling good.’

A true businesswoman, Karen says she definitely wasn’t swept off her feet by the glamorous image of the beauty industry, instead putting her energies into due diligence. After meeting with Rebecca Field, Caci’s national franchise manager, Karen recalls she came away impressed with the breadth and scope of the Caci system and support infrastructure. ‘That’s what gave my business the form and momentum to grow so strong so quickly,’ she avers. ‘I also visited a number of Caci clinics to get a feel for the kind of people who are Caci franchisees. It was reassuring to find they represented a broad range of backgrounds, with only a few coming from the beauty industry. After that, I decided to go ahead despite the gloomy economic forecasts.’

Two years on, she doesn’t regret her bold decision. ‘Everything the franchisor said would be delivered was delivered. Their marketing of the Caci brand and customer services is second-to-none. Their franchisee support has been phenomenal, right from the word go where, with location so important, franchise manager Rebecca Field came out to Pukekohe to give advice on likely sites I had found. Her recommendation on my central location definitely paid off. I’m also thrilled that they constantly reinvest in the Caci brand. We’re moving in a really exciting direction with some wonderful plans that will deliver major benefits to clients and substantial growth to Caci franchisees.’

Relatively low population density

Karen believes her success in a district which has relatively low population density should inspire others living outside the major metropolitan centres to give serious consideration to investing in a Caci clinic, particularly where there is a catchment of small townships. Rebecca Field suggests visiting the Caci website, which shows a number of franchise opportunities in similar areas such as Queenstown where the client catchment would also include Arrowtown, Wanaka and Cromwell.

Another aspect of owning a Caci clinic that Karen and her fireman husband appreciate is the freedom it brings. ‘I’m a manager rather than being hands-on, and I love not being tied to an opening hours routine. We started out with two staff, a fully-qualified nurse to administer injectables and carry out laser treatments, and a qualified beauty therapist. We now have two nurses, two beauty therapists and a treatment coordinator who has a very pivotal role for both service and therapy. I can be totally confident in the high standards of customer care and attention provided by my team here. As well as being qualified in their respective fields, all my staff have been through the very comprehensive Caci training programme.’

The set-up cost required for a Caci clinic is around $250-300,000 which, as businesswoman Karen points out, should be viewed not as a cost but as an investment. In return, franchisees receive such ongoing benefits as highly effective media promotion, product development, continual support and much more. ‘By making full use of the franchisor’s systems and support you will find the financial returns can be extremely strong,’ she says emphatically. ‘If they weren’t, I certainly wouldn’t be considering my next move – finding the right location for another Caci clinic.’

This advertorial is taken from Franchise New Zealand magazine Volume 19 Issue 3 

Contact details for Caci

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