No Pain, Big Gain How do back products retailers spell relief? S-A-L-E-S.

America is a nation in pain--back pain. According to theAmerican Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, back painaffects one in four Americans and is the second- leading cause ofwork absenteeism. Unlike many ailments, back pain is often broughton by nothing at all: A sedentary lifestyle, combined with longhours of sitting in awkward positions, puts a great deal of stresson the fragile cartilage discs that support and cushion the spine.These discs degenerate with age, making back pain a commoncomplaint among seniors, whose numbers are expected by the U.S.Census Bureau to more than double from 34.3 million to 78.8 millionpeople by 2050.

Although traditional medical remedies such as drugs and surgerycan sometimes relieve or eliminate back pain, the high cost ofhealth care and the chronic nature of back problems are prompting agrowing number of back-pain sufferers to seek alternative methodsof relief. "More people are taking responsibility for theirown backs," says Dr. Joel Press, a Chicago physical medicineand rehabilitation specialist. "There's a lot [the medicalindustry] can offer in terms of education about what types ofactivities to do and what kinds of things to avoid, but I thinkpeople are taking the next step and asking what they can do aboutthe problem."

Former U.S. Navy fighter pilot, IBM executive and back-painsufferer Dairl Johnson, 55, took the next step after years of backpain, which started when he was injured while ejecting from anaircraft during a training exercise. His doctor referred him to aRelax The Back Store, which specialized in selling ergonomicproducts designed to alleviate and prevent back pain, and suggestedJohnson buy a recliner and a backrest for his car. These productsturned out to be so effective at relieving his back pain thatJohnson opened several Relax The Back Store franchises inCalifornia in 1993. Eventually, he bought Relax The Back Corp.,which now has more than 100 stores and had 1997 sales of nearly $50million, up from $30 million
in 1996.

While Johnson is pleased with Relax The Back's success,having felt the same pain his customers feel, he enjoys being ableto offer them some relief. "I can't think of a betterbusiness to be in," he says. "I can help people feelbetter and live more active lives and prevent debilitating backproblems with my products."

Relax The Back expects to open 25 new U.S. stores by year-end,and Johnson also plans to enter the markets in Western Europe,Japan and Singapore. "We're not even close to reaching ourfull growth potential," he says.

JoAnne Schatz, 60, is another entrepreneur who has built abusiness soothing aching backs. Working for an orthopedic surgeonwho often told his back-pain patients to purchase specialback-supporting beds, chairs and pillows, Schatz found that manypatients had no idea where to find such products. The enterprisethat was to become JoAnne's Bed & Back Shops was born inSchatz's garage in 1978, with $15,000 in capital and herchildren serving as part-time employees.

With the help of her husband, Schatz opened her first store inBethesda, Maryland, in 1980, focusing on back-pain prevention."At JoAnne's, we don't just sell to people with badbacks; we sell to people who are trying to prevent bad backs,"says Schatz, who develops and puts her name on many of the productsshe sells. "For example, if you tell me you drive two hours aday and your back hurts, I'm going to sell you a back supportfor your car so the problem doesn't get any worse."Eighteen years after moving out of her garage, Schatz has 13 storesin four Northeastern states and Washington, DC, with 1997 sales ofmore than $6.2 million.

Although JoAnne's Bed & Back Shop's Web site(http://www.backfriendly.com) and catalog both display her wares,the nature of the business requires that customers receive personalattention. In fact, many of Schatz's stores feature physicaltherapists who conduct training sessions and consultations."People have to be fit to the product, whether it's amattress, chair or pillow," says Schatz. Despite the manypillows and smaller items available in the stores, Schatz says themost popular items are mattresses, adjustable beds and officechairs, which drive average sales to around $300.

Help Is On The Way

Recent concerns about repetitive motion injuries are driving thedemand for back stores' products and services. According toBureau of Labor statistics, back injuries account for 26 percent ofall workplace injuries/illnesses, and employers concerned aboutworkers' compensation claims are scrambling to take preventivemeasures.

"Employers are increasingly interested in providingcomfortable, healthy work environments," says Anthony Mazlish,33, founder and president of Newington, Virginia-based The HealthyBack Store Inc. Aside from selling smaller back-support products,beds and chairs, The Healthy Back also works with employers toprovide employees with ergonomically sound chairs, desks andcomputer stations. To this end, Mazlish includes a detailedworkplace evaluation form on his company's Web site(http://www.healthyback.com) to obtain precise measurements of legand arm lengths for orders of custom-designed ergonomicfurniture.

"The greater the proliferation of computers at all levelsof the work force and the more sedentary the work force, the moreback pain there is, and the more you're going to need thesetypes of chairs," says Mazlish, a back-pain sufferer himself,who opened the first Healthy Back Store in Rockville, Maryland, in1994. With Mazlish's recent acquisition of three Natural BackStores in Southern California (which are now called The HealthyBack), The Healthy Back chain is now eight stores strong.

Time To Hit Med School?

If you're considering opening a back store, you may wonderif, given the health problems that drive potential customers tothese stores, medical expertise is required to satisfy the needs ofcustomers as well as avoid legal trouble if one of your productsinjures a customer. The answer, according to Schatz, is no."We're not doctors, and we don't pretend to be, but ifwe see someone with a very bad back, we tell him or her to go see adoctor," she says. "We're very careful aboutthat."

Mazlish says that while his employees don't offer customersmedical advice, they do receive training from a physical therapistto help them better serve clients. "Customers expect a highlevel of service and expertise, but we are certainly no substitutefor a doctor's care," he says. "We are, however, veryfluent in the language of back pain."

As far as legal trouble associated with back-support productsgo: "We've never had a lawsuit as a result of aproduct," says Schatz. "JoAnne's Bed & Back hasan exchange policy to ensure customer satisfaction. In fact, weactually have a scrapbook of letters from people we'vehelped."

Talk Of The Town

Since the success of a back store depends on the level of itscommitment to customer satisfaction, most customers learn of astore's presence through word-of-mouth. Referrals from doctorsand chiropractors still make up a good portion of new customers,but the narrow niche that back stores occupy, as well as theirrelative newness to the marketplace, make effective advertisingtactics a must. Relax The Back's Johnson says that while hisstore's catalog generates a fair amount of business, thestore's Web site (which lists store locations and productinformation) is beginning to generate more business. "It hasnot been a big force, and this is probably true of a lot ofbusinesses on the Internet, but over time I can see it becomingmore of a factor," says Johnson.

The good news is, back stores are, in Johnson's words,"destination locations," meaning that most customersdon't enter the stores on impulse, as they do with many retailstores. In other words, because customers are looking for you, backstores can often flourish in relatively out-of-the-way locations,which generally have lower rent than prime spots. Start-up costsfor back-products stores typically range from $150,000 to$250,000.

Owning a back store isn't just about selling back-supportproducts, says Mazlish. "It is a customer servicebusiness," he says. "When you're helping peopleimprove their comfort level, you're only as good as the amountof relief you can give them. If what we sell them doesn't work,we haven't done a darn thing."

Next Step

• HomeCare magazine covers the medical supply marketplace.Call (800) 543-4116, ext. 480, or write to HomeCare,Miramar Communications, P.O. Box 8987, Malibu, CA 90265-8987.

• Call SEMCO Productions at (770) 998-9800 for informationabout relevant trade shows.

• The following franchise companies can help you get started:Better Back Store Franchises, 7936 E. Arapahoe Ct., #2100,Englewood, CO 80112, (800) 501-2225; and Relax The Back Corp., 2101Rosecrans, #12500, El Segundo, CA 90245, (800) 290-2225.

Contact Sources

The Healthy Back Store Inc., (800) 4-MY-BACK

JoAnne's Bed & Back Shops, (888) SOS-BACK

Relax The Back Corp., (310) 416-1077, http://www.relaxtheback.com