Relax The Back and its sales force are establishing links with the medical community to ensure that people with back and neck issues know where they can turn for related products.

Relax The Back has 110 stores and is the No. 1 retail store for furniture and other products that relieve and protect against back and neck pain. "No one is even close with the number of stores we have," President Dick Palfreyman says, but the company wants to "extend that lead."

The company's goal is to become the first thing that comes to mind when anyone thinks about back pain, he states. "Increasingly, that's what's happening as we increase the number of stores," he says.

Despite temporary challenges from a slowing retail market in general, Palfreyman says the company and its franchises continue to grow. It recently added stores in Charleston, S.C. Milwaukee and South Carolina.

It is adding other locations in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Houston and Atlanta, which is "a hot spot for us," he explains.

"[Last year was] a good year but not a great year," Palfreyman states, adding that the company expected faster-paced sales growth. "I've been the CEO now for five years and [2006 was] the first year we've essentially had flat sales on a same-store basis."

Not counting November and December numbers, he says, sales have not grown as fast as they have in the past, but he is optimistic they will ramp up again. "I think it's a temporary phenomenon, and we are being impacted by things that are impacting other retailers - declining housing prices, higher interest rates, high gas prices, the war, a reluctance on the part of people to go out and make a major purchase commitment. We are hoping it will come to an end, and we'll be back up. Usually, in the past, we have been up 7 to 8 percent a year."

Within the last year, the company has stepped up its franchise sales efforts and invested in a new Web site for potential franchisees, Palfreyman says.

"Next year, our goal is to open 20 stores," he states. "I think we can do that. We have a good pipeline of prospects going into the year and that's a good sign."

The company is also boosting sales efforts with a medical partnership program, he notes. Relax The Back and its sales force are establishing links with the medical community to ensure that people with back and neck issues know where they can turn for related products.

"We have put together a rather sophisticated and intensive medical partnership program training [franchises and their employees]," he explains. "The basic premise is to help people with back and neck pain and give them the opportunity to establish connections with the medical community and educate them on the type of store we have and products we carry. We look to them to refer patients to us, to help them with back and neck needs. We are continuing on that training path and expect good results from that. "We continue to stress training," he adds. Many of the company's franchisees are certified ergonomic specialists.

The company is also boosting service with the help of a secret shopper program it signed up for about a year ago. "In addition to that, we've added to our internal staff of business consultants and consult with our store owners about how their business could be improved, and continue to modify and adjust management, how the store is doing and areas where significant improvement can be made. We are quite happy with the progress we are making, improving existing stores and adding to new stores."

Setting Itself Apart
Relax The Back is also updating its stores. "We've remodeled more than half the stores in our network in the last 18 months with a very nice, current design," Palfreyman notes.

"It's quite an upgrade in the quality of stores and is going to continue another year, so I think the customer will have a more appealing experience in our stores."

Palfreyman expects the medical market to boom as the population ages and the obesity epidemic causes more back and neck issues. The company is at the forefront of new products and continues to expand its lineup with more zero-gravity recliners, massage chairs and other products, he says.

Customers don't have to sacrifice on style, either. Recliners range from Danish modern to traditional and overstuffed club chairs. "We now offer very good massage chairs ranging from $799 to $7,499," he notes.

Tempur-Pedic mattresses are its largest-selling product in dollar volume, but as Tempur-Pedic has expanded its dealer network, competition has increased, Palfreyman notes.

"We are countering that," he states, noting that its expertise and training give it an edge. "Ultimately, we are the only nationwide company that caters exclusively to people who want to alleviate or avoid back and neck pain. So, we differentiate ourselves from other people who may carry back products and neck products somewhere in their product lines. We are the only nationally significant chain that really concentrates on that."

The company also sets itself apart with exclusive products that are "best in class," he adds. Relax The Back has "good relations" with vendors and often collaborates with them to create or improve products, Palfreyman says. For example, seven months ago, it introduced a new Relax The Back exclusive massage bed with Far-infrared heat and rollers to soothe muscles. "That's the kind of thing we think continues to hold us above the competition," he says. "This is the only place [customers] can get it and we provide a unique benefit."

Bedding accounts for 35 to 40 percent of the business, Palfreyman says, but Relax The Back also has strong sales in its home, office, and fitness and travel categories, and is trying to increase their percentages. Palfreyman says the company has been concentrating on its office products, in particular, with good results. "If you are really in the market to go out and buy a high-quality ergonomic office chair, you don't have a lot of places to go," he says.

"Most chairs you see in chain stores are not particularly good ergonomically. We are expanding our line of office chairs with a whole host of looks and features, supplementing that with laptop holders, footrests and powered sit-to-stand desks that go up or down at the touch of a button to adjust to your working position. There continues to be a big market for high-quality office seating. People spend a third of their lives in these chairs and deserve to have better ergonomics and better back and neck support."