S Medical Spa, a luxury rejuvenation centre in Bangkok, is planning to expand its business both in Thailand and abroad, based on a unique rejuvenation-through-integrated-healthcare service.

President and founder Dr Pakpilai Thavisin revealed that next year, S Medical Spa planned to open a wellness spa in Hua Hin and other two spas in Bangkok through sub-branding. Chiang Mai, Koh Samui, Phuket and Krabi are also in the pipeline for investment in 2008.

"Those new spas will not offer clients the full services like S Medical Spa on Wireless Road. They will provide a spa plus alternative medicine to give clients a warm and relaxed spirit," said Pakpilai.

After a year of operation, investors from many countries are now approaching S Medical Spa to open branches.

She said there were three types of overseas business: consulting, management and franchise. S Medical Spa is now ready to provide consultation for current spas and investors who are interested in expanding the business.

Meanwhile, the company is negotiating management contracts with foreign investors. There is a possibility to expand its spa business in India, Dubai, Vietnam, Hong Kong and China next year.

Pakpilai acknowledges franchising as another channel to expand business, but she wants to take time to study the details. The difficulty is how to control and maintain quality standards of service.

She said that having been open for one year, S Medical Spa was already a well-recognised medical spa in Asia because of its unique integrated healthcare service. Unlike others, it offers a combination of Eastern traditional healing and spa arts plus the modern science of the West.

Besides the current programmes - spa and relaxation, vitality, beauty, figure, holistic and purification - S Medical Spa will next month launch three new ones: office syndrome, speedy facial treatment, and stress management and sleep medicine.

She explained that most working people suffered from office syndrome: neck, shoulder and back pain as well as headaches due to working at a computer continuously for a long time.

Women can have a speedy facial treatment during a lunch break or after work, while the meditation programme will help people who suffer from stress and insomnia. Each programme takes just 30-45 minutes.

Pakpilai said proudly that S Medical Spa had been nominated by the Baccarat AsiaSpa Awards (BASA) in four categories: Medi-Spa of the Year, Spa Treatment of the Year, Spa Marketing of the Year and Spa Personality of the Year.

"It's amazing that S was nominated in a final vote that beat global prestigious spa brands despite only one year of operation. Moreover, I'm the only Thai entering the final vote for Spa Personality of the Year," she said.

The BASA Awards are the most comprehensive awards in Asia, specifically designed to celebrate innovation in the Asian spa and wellness industry.

The results are collated from a list of resorts and hotels, day spas and wellness centres and represent a year's worth of spa visits and therapeutic treatments, while spa personalities and brands are nominated by an expert panel of independent judges.

The winners will be announced on November 16 at the awards ceremony in Hong Kong.

Patcharee Lueng-uthai

The Nation