Celadon Day Spa's retail area offers a unique blend of products.
downtown. It was our customers who
asked us to move into the city, because
being closer to offices meant giving
them the flexibility their hectic schedules
needed to include spa treatments.”
Koritsas, who started the business
with a loan from a friend (who has since
became a business partner and a loyal
customer), says that the early days were
a struggle. “I came to the U.S. from the
U.K. in 1989 and worked for a salon in
Georgetown for five years. I left there
and started working for myself in 1994,
trying to create a business of my own. I
was unable to get a loan as I had no
collateral, but this loyal client of mine
took a chance on me—she could have
lost it all but we were able to repay her
in five years and she became a partner.”
Back then, downtown D.C. was
somewhat of an eyesore. Buildings were,
for the most part, rundown and in dire
need of refurbishment and tenants, a
process that is ongoing, and the thought
of a spa tenant baffled the building
owners. “We were right on the edge of a
development area,” she says, “with little
but offices nearby. There were almost no
residences or other retail. However, the
other thing the area lacked, to our
advantage, was competition.”
Trusting One’s Instincts
As it turned out, Koritsas’ timing was as
perfect as her thoughts about the lack of
competition. Almost from the moment
Celadon moved into the Washington
city center, property developers have
been at work almost non-stop. Now,
surrounded by high-quality retail and
residential property, Celadon has grown
revenue and profit substantially since
first opening its doors, despite
occupying a location with very limited
space for expansion options.
Since May 2000 when the spa first
opened, the spa’s team has grown from
three to now seven hairstylists, from
three to now four estheticians as well as
two manicurists and a massage
therapist. “Revenues have gone from
US$2 million to US$3.2 million. We
were able to pay back the loan from a
client-turned-business-partner within six
years,” she says.
Celadon’s success is perhaps down
to a mixture of good timing, urban
renewal and location—none of which
would have been possible if Koritsas had
not had the foresight and conviction to
move in the first place. Celadon has
now become part of the downtown
D.C.’s landscape, so much so that when
its landlord decided to sell the building it
occupies, it used Celadon to advertise
the sale—the same landlord that was
initially reluctant to have the spa as a
tenant.
Demands and Treatments
For a city where the spotlight is always
on, spa guests—Koritsas estimates 95
percent are local—tend to be driven by
treatments that may help enhance their
physical looks. Anti-aging facial treat-
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