Body Work Holdings(Japan)

Body Work Holdings was established in Japan in 1982. Focusing on spa services, it now has 13 different brands; Raffine alone has 480 stores and 2,900 employees serving 2.9 million customers annually in Japan, and is opening new stores at a rate of 40~50 a year. It has become Japan's top spa brand.

The company set up the Taiwan Body Work Co. in Taipei and opened its first store in the Zhongshan Metro Mall on Sep. 25. After establishing a solid foothold in Taipei, the firm plans to extend its operations into the center and southern regions of the island. Each Taiwan store will have 5~8 employees and entail an initial investment of around NT$3 million; current plans are to set up 10 stores in the first year and at least 15 in the second. During the first two years of its Taiwan venture, Raffine expects to invest a total of NT$75 million and provide 200 jobs.

To ease the Japanese firm's investment in Taiwan, the InvesTaiwan Service Center provided help in finding stores and hiring employees, and offered suggestions for brand development. The Center also provided information on the massage market in Taiwan and on integrated marketing companies. Most of the people providing spa services in Taiwan today are medium-aged or elderly, while the Japanese company needs to hire young girls. InvesTaiwan conveyed information on the Japanese firm's background and the nature of its business to the National Taipei University of Nursing and Health Sciences with the aim of bringing about cooperation between Body Work and the university's College of Human Development and Health. Such cooperation will provide opportunities for the school's students to gain outside experience during their school years and to find employment afterwards.

Source：Department of Investment Services, MOEA