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Prisca Courtin-Clarins, granddaughter of Jacques Courtin-Clarins joined the family trade after running her own nail beauty business in Paris. Now head of spas, My Blend and retail departments, she and her team - including global spa business manager Morgan Lefrançois - are realising the family vision for Clarins
What’s the Clarins brand concept? Prisca: Our brand innovations are based on beauty through plants, manual massage methods and the concept of ‘feeling good and looking good’. Women are at the heart of Clarins and we listen to our clients, seeking to understanding them so that we can offer tailored formula, texture and application methods for every need. This visionary approach has paved new paths in the field of cosmetics.
Tell us more about the Clarins approach Prisca: Clarins relies on its own research laboratories to control the entire production process from formulation, evaluation and microbiology to packaging and regulation. Our principle is on-going innovation and the determination to continue to improve our products efficiency, even if they already are number one in their category. Formulas will be enriched and enhanced to ensure it delivers ever more efficacy, quality, pleasure and beauty.
What new spas are you opening? Morgan: We have just opened a Spa by Clarins at the newly reopened Hotel Molitor Paris - Mgallery Collection (Molitor Lido) and new projects have been starting in Italy, Spain, the Carribean and Mauritius. We continue to be very active in the more mature markets of England, Germany and Switzerland with our Skin Spa network, where we’re continuously improving offerings and treatments, increasing operational performance and selling products linked to the treatment. We have a strong infrastructure and a regional spa team in Singapore and are expanding very fast in Thailand and China.
Tell us more about your new product and treatment innovations Prisca: We are now launching our new facial treatment collection designed to deliver instant and long lasting beauty results as well as rejuvenating wellbeing benefits. It includes 10 new facials for men and women and uses plant-based formulas.
This new facial collection has been clinically tested with spectacular anti-ageing results revealing a 29 per cent reduction in the volume of wrinkles following treatment. They also deliver wellbeing benefits. Tests on 30 volunteers showed people recovered better and faster during a single Anti Ageing Treatment than after two night’s sleep.
What’s the strategy for 2016? Morgan: At our Skin Spas (Clarins owned and operated day spas) we are focusing on continously improving our guest experience while improving profitability and we have a few exciting openings in the pipeline for 2016. With hotels, we are looking for the right partners to open Spa by Clarins and Spa My Blend by Clarins in capital cities and at leisure destinations.
We will be introducing a new retail concept and client experience journey at new boutiques in key cities, starting with the recently opened ION Orchard retail development in Singapore, with the next opening in Paris. Our retail capacity has tremendous opportunity for growth.
What do you look for in a spa partner? Morgan: As we plan for long term win-win partnerships, firstly we look for partners who share a common vision and values with us. Secondly, we look for high quality standards in terms of facilities, brand positioning and location of the property.
We wish to partner with hoteliers looking forward to launching profitable and sustainable business. Last but not least, we are extremely demanding with staff skills and expertise. Too many projects skim on spending on people and yet have high expectations, which then can’t be met. We have very loyal associates and it’s important our partner treat its staff well and we can trust them to do so.
What does Clarins offer spas? Morgan: Clarins started out with day spas 60 years ago and has grown in spa and retail channels since, so we understand what it takes to operate a spa and we share this know how with our partners.
In addition to our own special Clarins method based on pressing and draining, offering personalised treatments and coming with professional products, we also design signature treatments for our partners.
One of our main assets is that people trust our products - they are safe and deliver the results they promise. We find referral is a big strength for us and women of all ages recommend Clarins because they use our products and trust our brand.
Clarins is one of the world’s top skincare brands and our track record of success with our existing hotel partners proves that the Clarins name and brand strongly benefits their spa profitability.
What are your bestselling ranges? • Prisca: Aroma-Phyto Beauty Care combines aromatherapy and phytotherapy for the face and body and has become a legendary brand icon.
• Clarins treatment fragrance collection combine the uplifting action and fragrance of plants, of which Eau Dynamisante is the most celebrated since 1987, with a product sold every 25 seconds worldwide.
• Advanced Age Defense is a pioneering skin care line symbolic of Clarins’ on-going innovation.
• Double Serum is our newest hit and combines hydrosoluble and liposoluble anti-ageing ingredients in two separate formulas.
• ClarinsMen is also popular and uses an innovative energising complex that combines bison grass, galangal and purslane.
What support do you offer spas? Morgan: The project team gets consistent support right from the early design stage, from both the international spa division and the local Clarins team. We share our expertise in all aspects of spa - financial planning, spa set up and architecture, pre-opening, menu development, assistance with recruitment, staff training and ongoing education, product merchandising and retail expertise, personalised marketing activities and PR events. Importantly, Clarins Spa partners benefit from our brand notoriety and the spa is able to command authority based on the Clarins name it is associated with.
How does the Clarins family legacy impact the modern business and your approach? Prisca: Everything Clarins is today started with one man, Jacques Courtin-Clarins - an ingenious entrepreneur. He perfected his product formulas by taking account of his clients’ questions, observations and suggestions and a very private ‘beauty dialogue’ came into being. Without the reactions of women to inspire reflection and innovation, Clarins would not have been Clarins. His sons, Christian and Olivier Courtin-Clarins, took up the story of Clarins with the same enthusiasm and I have been involved since 2013.
We’ve always had a clear, dynamic vision to be an effective beauty brand that contributes to our customer’s wellbeing, harmony and happiness.
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
View contents of Spa Business 2015 issue 3
Letters:
Investors better placed to make profits in spas than operators, says Roger Allen
News report: LivNordic
Raison d’Etre signs a deal with Viking Cruise Lines for its LivNordic spa brand
Trends: Spa Foresight™ 2015
The team behind Spa Business share their insights on what the world of wellness will look like in the future
Interview – Craig Cogut:
The founding partner of Six Senses’ investment firm Pegasus Capital Advisors reveals his vision for the spa operator. Rhianon Howells reports
Promotional feature: RKF Linen
Founder and CEO Riadh Bouaziz talks about the development of the linen company’s revolutionary
new Dreamsoft product and its uptake in leading hotels and spas worldwide
Thought Leaders: Expert predictions
Thought leaders from around the world, working in different industry sectors, talk about spa trends, challenges and growth opportunities
Promotional feature: Thalgo
After 50 successful years in the professional spa and beauty industry, the Thalgo brand is as strong and as innovative
as ever
Promotional feature: ManageMySpa
CEO Sudheer Koneru explains how a move from enterprise technology into spa
software resulted in the creation of a powerful system
The Spa Life UK Convention returns from 21–23 June 2026 at Whittlebury Park Hotel, Spa &
Golf Resort, bringing together spa managers, directors and owners for two days of focused
education, meaningful connection and commercial insight. [more...]
+ More featured suppliers
COMPANY PROFILES
Spa Supply Solutions
Founded in 2014 by spa management expert Julie Bevilacqua, Spa Supply Solutions is a leader in spa p [more...]
Prisca Courtin-Clarins, granddaughter of Jacques Courtin-Clarins joined the family trade after running her own nail beauty business in Paris. Now head of spas, My Blend and retail departments, she and her team - including global spa business manager Morgan Lefrançois - are realising the family vision for Clarins
What’s the Clarins brand concept? Prisca: Our brand innovations are based on beauty through plants, manual massage methods and the concept of ‘feeling good and looking good’. Women are at the heart of Clarins and we listen to our clients, seeking to understanding them so that we can offer tailored formula, texture and application methods for every need. This visionary approach has paved new paths in the field of cosmetics.
Tell us more about the Clarins approach Prisca: Clarins relies on its own research laboratories to control the entire production process from formulation, evaluation and microbiology to packaging and regulation. Our principle is on-going innovation and the determination to continue to improve our products efficiency, even if they already are number one in their category. Formulas will be enriched and enhanced to ensure it delivers ever more efficacy, quality, pleasure and beauty.
What new spas are you opening? Morgan: We have just opened a Spa by Clarins at the newly reopened Hotel Molitor Paris - Mgallery Collection (Molitor Lido) and new projects have been starting in Italy, Spain, the Carribean and Mauritius. We continue to be very active in the more mature markets of England, Germany and Switzerland with our Skin Spa network, where we’re continuously improving offerings and treatments, increasing operational performance and selling products linked to the treatment. We have a strong infrastructure and a regional spa team in Singapore and are expanding very fast in Thailand and China.
Tell us more about your new product and treatment innovations Prisca: We are now launching our new facial treatment collection designed to deliver instant and long lasting beauty results as well as rejuvenating wellbeing benefits. It includes 10 new facials for men and women and uses plant-based formulas.
This new facial collection has been clinically tested with spectacular anti-ageing results revealing a 29 per cent reduction in the volume of wrinkles following treatment. They also deliver wellbeing benefits. Tests on 30 volunteers showed people recovered better and faster during a single Anti Ageing Treatment than after two night’s sleep.
What’s the strategy for 2016? Morgan: At our Skin Spas (Clarins owned and operated day spas) we are focusing on continously improving our guest experience while improving profitability and we have a few exciting openings in the pipeline for 2016. With hotels, we are looking for the right partners to open Spa by Clarins and Spa My Blend by Clarins in capital cities and at leisure destinations.
We will be introducing a new retail concept and client experience journey at new boutiques in key cities, starting with the recently opened ION Orchard retail development in Singapore, with the next opening in Paris. Our retail capacity has tremendous opportunity for growth.
What do you look for in a spa partner? Morgan: As we plan for long term win-win partnerships, firstly we look for partners who share a common vision and values with us. Secondly, we look for high quality standards in terms of facilities, brand positioning and location of the property.
We wish to partner with hoteliers looking forward to launching profitable and sustainable business. Last but not least, we are extremely demanding with staff skills and expertise. Too many projects skim on spending on people and yet have high expectations, which then can’t be met. We have very loyal associates and it’s important our partner treat its staff well and we can trust them to do so.
What does Clarins offer spas? Morgan: Clarins started out with day spas 60 years ago and has grown in spa and retail channels since, so we understand what it takes to operate a spa and we share this know how with our partners.
In addition to our own special Clarins method based on pressing and draining, offering personalised treatments and coming with professional products, we also design signature treatments for our partners.
One of our main assets is that people trust our products - they are safe and deliver the results they promise. We find referral is a big strength for us and women of all ages recommend Clarins because they use our products and trust our brand.
Clarins is one of the world’s top skincare brands and our track record of success with our existing hotel partners proves that the Clarins name and brand strongly benefits their spa profitability.
What are your bestselling ranges? • Prisca: Aroma-Phyto Beauty Care combines aromatherapy and phytotherapy for the face and body and has become a legendary brand icon.
• Clarins treatment fragrance collection combine the uplifting action and fragrance of plants, of which Eau Dynamisante is the most celebrated since 1987, with a product sold every 25 seconds worldwide.
• Advanced Age Defense is a pioneering skin care line symbolic of Clarins’ on-going innovation.
• Double Serum is our newest hit and combines hydrosoluble and liposoluble anti-ageing ingredients in two separate formulas.
• ClarinsMen is also popular and uses an innovative energising complex that combines bison grass, galangal and purslane.
What support do you offer spas? Morgan: The project team gets consistent support right from the early design stage, from both the international spa division and the local Clarins team. We share our expertise in all aspects of spa - financial planning, spa set up and architecture, pre-opening, menu development, assistance with recruitment, staff training and ongoing education, product merchandising and retail expertise, personalised marketing activities and PR events. Importantly, Clarins Spa partners benefit from our brand notoriety and the spa is able to command authority based on the Clarins name it is associated with.
How does the Clarins family legacy impact the modern business and your approach? Prisca: Everything Clarins is today started with one man, Jacques Courtin-Clarins - an ingenious entrepreneur. He perfected his product formulas by taking account of his clients’ questions, observations and suggestions and a very private ‘beauty dialogue’ came into being. Without the reactions of women to inspire reflection and innovation, Clarins would not have been Clarins. His sons, Christian and Olivier Courtin-Clarins, took up the story of Clarins with the same enthusiasm and I have been involved since 2013.
We’ve always had a clear, dynamic vision to be an effective beauty brand that contributes to our customer’s wellbeing, harmony and happiness.
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
View contents of Spa Business 2015 issue 3
Letters:
Investors better placed to make profits in spas than operators, says Roger Allen
News report: LivNordic
Raison d’Etre signs a deal with Viking Cruise Lines for its LivNordic spa brand
Trends: Spa Foresight™ 2015
The team behind Spa Business share their insights on what the world of wellness will look like in the future
Interview – Craig Cogut:
The founding partner of Six Senses’ investment firm Pegasus Capital Advisors reveals his vision for the spa operator. Rhianon Howells reports
Promotional feature: RKF Linen
Founder and CEO Riadh Bouaziz talks about the development of the linen company’s revolutionary
new Dreamsoft product and its uptake in leading hotels and spas worldwide
Thought Leaders: Expert predictions
Thought leaders from around the world, working in different industry sectors, talk about spa trends, challenges and growth opportunities
Promotional feature: Thalgo
After 50 successful years in the professional spa and beauty industry, the Thalgo brand is as strong and as innovative
as ever
Promotional feature: ManageMySpa
CEO Sudheer Koneru explains how a move from enterprise technology into spa
software resulted in the creation of a powerful system
Four Seasons Resort The Nam Hai in Hoi An, Vietnam, has put together a Global Wellness Day
(GWD) agenda with activations rooted in nature and shaped by four pillars of Joy – in
alignment with the day’s theme #JoyMagenta.
The Global Wellness Summit (GWS) will celebrate its 20th anniversary at the 2026 event in
Phuket, Thailand, later this year with the theme: The Science, Art and Soul of Wellness.
Auko, an all-inclusive development, is opening in Phong Nha in Vietnam in Q3 2026, with a
series of 30 tented eco-lodges and wellness hospitality operations by Lumina Wellbeing.
Therme Manchester’s 28-acre development, which will include interconnected glass pavilions
that measure 65,000sq m, will be the largest bathing and wellbeing attraction in the world once
complete, according to prof David Russell, CEO of Therme UK.
Naples Beach Club, a Four Seasons Resort, has opened a 2,800sq m spa called The Sanctuary,
with the design and concept inspired by the Native American people that populated Florida’s
Southwest coast – the Calusa.
Swire Hotels’ luxury hospitality brand Upper House has revealed it will roll out its two-day
House of Healing retreats at its three hotels in Hong Kong, Chengdu and Shanghai.
LVMH-owned beauty house Guerlain will launch up to five spas with partners a year as part of
its plan to expand globally, according to the brand’s international spa and wellness director,
Diane Davody.
A new global study by Kevin Kelly and Peter Yesawich, called WELLSurvey 2.0, has revealed
more than half of consumers in the UK, US and Germany would not choose numerous high-
profile wellness resort brands for a future trip.
Luxury hospitality and wellness pioneer Jeremy McCarthy has launched Leisure Alchemy, a
digital platform that will provide professionals with strategic guidance on how to build
transformational leisure experiences that drive profit.
The Spa Life UK Convention returns from 21–23 June 2026 at Whittlebury Park Hotel, Spa &
Golf Resort, bringing together spa managers, directors and owners for two days of focused
education, meaningful connection and commercial insight. [more...]
+ More featured suppliers
COMPANY PROFILES
Spa Supply Solutions Founded in 2014 by spa management expert Julie Bevilacqua, Spa Supply Solutions is a leader in spa p [more...]
