Are those massage chairs worth investing in as a business?

Question

Was looking around on the net for a business idea add on, already have a successful window cleaning business but was kind of thinking those massage chairs you see in malls and shops might be an easy money earner as an add on business, does anyone operate one currently or have done in the past and think its a waste of money.

These are the type of massage chairs such as the ones from thebackrubber.com whereby you buy 4 of them, set them up in a mall or store and people pay $1 for a 3 minute massage, just wondered if these work and were a good idea for a business, especially if someone out there already does this and makes excellent money from it. Not looking to start a wholesale business just a simple... leave the chairs in a mall come back a month later collect the money idea.

Answer 1

I have never run a business, but I have shared some of the responsibility of running of a business from startup to success and know a bit about profitable ideas.

The massage chairs to which you refer are manufactured by hundreds of companies around the world, but only a few have significant market share. 80% of the chairs are created by 10% of the manufacturers, so a business in manufacturing massage chairs would likely fail.

Wholesale distribution is in a similar situation. Each company distributes it's chairs to a select few wholesalers, who then distribute to thousands of retailers. So a wholesaling business in massage chairs would also likely fail.

The Market is flooded with an excess of competition of retailers fighting for prime real estate in both the real world and cyber world, with big brands even struggling to provide any decent kind of range and supply of products.

I see only 2 options for you.

1) Start a small business in being the retailer that can offer the widest range of massage chairs in the world, having as many suppliers as possible on the books. Pay international shipping companies to ship a few items on demand from whichever supplier the customer orders (after payment up front) to bring their selected chair from the manufacturer to the customer's front door by courier. You never need to see the chair personally.

2) Establish a massage chair delivery service, establishing contracts with hundreds of local retailers with advertisements in their windows offering delivery of their massage chair to their door and fully installed at a small surcharge.

Eventually these 2 businesses could be combined, making you a supplier of chairs to retailers and customers alike, becoming everyone's friend. All you need to start this is a truck with a delivery driver / labourer, a contract with 1 major retailer that doesn't handle their own wholesaling, and a commercial website for direct sales with a cyber manager to communicate with customers. This makes the business self-managed, which leaves you to travel the globe meeting representatives of massage chair manufacturers to establish trade relations.

Answer 2

I don't think so, back in New York in the malls i have seen at least one and
they have always been empty. People walk right by them or just sit in them
and don't put money into them. Have you thought of gumball machines?