Inside Aesthetics Ep 207 An Assessment of the Australian Chain Clinics | Babak Moini
Episode 207 hosts Babak Moini (Founder of Laser Clinics Australia)
LCA started in 2008 and have become the world's largest aesthetic and skin chain of clinics with over 200 locations in Australia, Singapore, UK and Canada. Since then, numerous other competitor chain clinic brands have competed with each other for the same demographic of patients (including Silk Laser Clinics, Evolution Clinics, Australian Skin Clinics, Clear Complexion Clinics and several other brands) The universal feature of the chain clinics includes offering discounted and high volume treatments, often in high foot traffic locations and shopping malls.
Babak sold his final shares in LCA in 2017 and has observed from the sidelines how the aesthetic chain clinic model that he started has evolved.
00:00 Introduction 01:03 Meet Babak Moini 04:55 Founding Laser Clinics Australia 10:59 Growth of the Chain Clinic Model 18:27 Private Equity and Selling the Business 26:25 Challenges Facing Chain Clinics Today 33:29 Pricing Pressure and Unsustainable Discounts 41:37 Why Franchise Models Are Struggling 48:53 Retaining Nurses and Talent Shortages 52:09 Competition and Market Saturation 61:45 New Regulations and Compliance Costs 68:49 Impact on Large Clinic Networks 76:38 Advice for Franchise Owners 80:09 Opportunities for Independent Clinics 86:34 Future of Chain Clinics and Market Share 90:43 Industry Outlook and Final Thoughts 95:25 Wrap Up and Outro