Mandara Spa is a global spa management company founded in

Bali Bali (English:; Balinese language, Balinese: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller o ...

and now under the company ''Steiner Leisure Limited'', publicly listed in

Nasdaq The Nasdaq Stock Market (; National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the U.S. by volume, and ranked second on the list ...

(STNR). Steiner was purchased in 2016 by private equity firm Catterton. The name Mandara comes from an ancient

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

legend about the gods' quest to find the elixir of immortality and eternal youth. Mandara Spa has commercially exploited this legend.

History

Founded in

, Indonesia in 1996 by Thomas Gottlieb and

John Pritzker John A. Pritzker (born 1953) is an American billionaire and investor. He is a member of the Pritzker family, the grandson of A.N. Pritzker and son of Jay Pritzker. Early life and education Pritzker was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Mari ...

,Hotel Management Magazine: "One on One with John Pritzker" By Ruthanne Terrero
January 21, 2011 Mandara Spa was one of the pioneers of the tropical Asian spa experience. The first Mandara Spa opened in May 1996 at The Chedi (now Alila Ubud) in

Ubud Ubud () is a town in the Gianyar Regency of Bali, Indonesia. Ubud has no status, that is part of the eponymous Ubud District of Gianyar. Promoted as an arts and culture centre, Ubud has developed a large tourism industry. It forms a northern p ...

, Bali. In 1998, it began operating in

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

and the following year, in 1999, it expanded into the

Maldives The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, and historically known as the Maldive Islands, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in South Asia located in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives is southwest of Sri Lanka and India, abou ...

and

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

. In 1998, Mandara Spa formed the US-based division, headquartered in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

, to develop spas outside of Asia.

Shiseido Company

Mandara Spa ceased to be a 100% privately owned company in 2000, when ''

Shiseido is a Japanese multinational cosmetic company founded in Tokyo, Japan in 1872. Its product categories consist of: skin care, makeup, body care, hair care, and fragrances. The company is one of the oldest cosmetic companies in the world an ...

Co.'' of Japan bought a 40% stake in its worldwide operations. In 2001, the remaining 60% of shares were sold to ''Steiner Leisure Limited'', a

(STNR) listed company.

Steiner Leisure Ltd

In December 2002 Steiner Leisure Limited became the sole owner of Mandara Spa after acquiring the 40% equity interests from Shiseido. Steiner Leisure Limited is a global provider of spa services and operations, a manufacturer and distributor of skin, body and hair care products and an accredited educator teaching massage, skincare, and spa management. Steiner Leisure's Maritime and Resort Spa divisions operate in over 175 venues on land and at sea. Mandara Spa now operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Steiner Leisure, with Jeff Matthews as president and Chief Operating Officer of its Asian, and middle eastern region an
Bruce Pine
Senior Vice-president and Chief Operating Officer, Land-based spas, in all other regions.Cohen, Marc. ''Understanding the Global Spa Industry: Spa Management''. Butterworth-Heinemann, 2008

Business Model

Mandara Spa is a spa management company, it is not an owning company. The company operates much the same as a hotel Management Company would. A hotel owner or manager offers up space, Mandara Spa comes in and does everything from design & construction, right through to fit out. Mandara Spa also designs the treatment menu and brings in the staff. Finally, Mandara Spa continues to manage the business on an ongoing basis. The business model for Mandara Spa varies according to the needs of each hotel. In some cases, Mandara Spa takes a percentage of revenues & profits, just like a hotel company would. In other cases, Mandara Spa takes on the costs of the operation and shares a percentage of top-line revenue only with the hotel. In some cases, the hotel and Mandara Spa share both costs and revenues and split the profits.

References

{{Reflist Spas