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Old 08-30-2004, 04:34 PM   #1 (permalink)
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Four Seasons Purchased by Conglomerate

PARIS, TN – Tanning distributor Four Seasons Sales & Service, Inc. was purchased by Houchens Industries of Bowling Green, KY on August 20, 2004. Houchens, a grocery store conglomerate with diversified interests, acquired 100 percent of Four Seasons holdings from its former owners, Ronnie and Johnny Allen. While existing management at Four Seasons will stay in place, the Allens will have no further involvement with the distribution company. “Ronnie and Johnny have been part of the indoor tanning industry for a long time, and they will continue to do so as owners of their nine Express Tan salons,” said Chuck Robinson, Four Seasons President and CEO. “We wish them the best in all their continued endeavors.”

Houchens Industries was founded as BG Wholesale in 1918 by Ervin Houchens. Today, it operates four Houchens Markets in Kentucky, and nearly 200 Save-A-Lot stores in 13 states from eastern Texas to New York. Houchens also owns more than four Jr. Foods convenience stores and 23 Tobacco Shoppe discount cigarette outlets, mostly in Kentucky and Tennessee. It purchased cigarette maker Commonwealth Brands in 2001. “Houchens is one of the top 100 privately held companies in America, and we welcome them to the indoor tanning industry,” Robinson said.

Taken from website.
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Old 08-30-2004, 04:47 PM   #2 (permalink)
 
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Anyone wondering how fast they'll try to get those lotions etc. into their stores?
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Old 08-30-2004, 05:18 PM   #3 (permalink)
 
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Sav-a-lots are what I would call a box store or case store. The steel (shelving) in the stores are a rack style. Usually a space on the bottom for an item (in cases) and another space above it for another item (in cases). It doesn't have shelving like you would see say at Walmart or Krogers, except for dairy, produce frozen food and such. I could possibly see them maybe bringing in one tanning lotion item for sale, but more than one I'd be incline to think not. They try to offer a lot of different kinds of items, not of the same kind. There is a Sav-a-lot in our biggest city, but for them to think they could bring in lots of lotion would be a big mistake. It would just sit there and get old.

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Old 08-30-2004, 05:21 PM   #4 (permalink)
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Ya Neon, I was wondering the same thing
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Old 08-30-2004, 06:16 PM   #5 (permalink)
 
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Four seasons is a distributor not a lotion manufacturer.so they cannot sell cal-tan,designer skin.etc.in there stores their contracts with the lotion companies restrict it. Who cares who owns them anyways?All you should care about is they dont own tanning salon and still give you a good deal.I only by from URI so I am not sticking up for them.for the Best customer service and people call rick staskus at 800 247-3251.Best owner in the buisness Dave Myers very knowledgeable and very easy to talk with.
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Old 08-30-2004, 06:35 PM   #6 (permalink)
 
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Every business, industry, product, and person has a lifecycle. Birth, adolescence, tweenage, teen, young adult, adulthood, maturity, and a death (unless you are good enough to be able to reinvent yourself like Madonna and then the process begins again at some state ).

Last year, our reading was the tanning industry was a tweenager. It appears to be moving slowly toward teen/young adult with part of the industry in each age group. The Houchens purchase definitely indicates a maturation in the young adult range. Even though the purchaser is clearly a mature company, it doesn't change the industry's dynamic that much at present.

When industries begin to mature, you'll see everyone in the industry adopting "best practices", little or no differentiation between salons because most everything that could improve sales has been found, tested, and copied, and the battle for marketshare gets ugly with the saturation marketing concept placing a salon in every strip center. The industry is years away from that and there is still plenty of room for growth...as with all tweenagers and young adults.
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Old 08-31-2004, 12:23 AM   #7 (permalink)
 
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I bet they are planning on opeing taning salons in their stores. A new franchise. That is what they are planning in my opinion. It's not about lotions.
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Old 08-31-2004, 07:58 AM   #8 (permalink)
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If thats the case why didnt they buy the salons also?
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Old 08-31-2004, 08:46 AM   #9 (permalink)
 
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On 2004-08-31 00:23, george99 wrote:
I bet they are planning on opeing taning salons in their stores. A new franchise. That is what they are planning in my opinion. It's not about lotions.


No Way, Sav-a-lots are a no frills store, ever seen there ads on TV? You go in buy your groceries, when you check out the cashier places all your item in to another shopping cart. You have to bag or should I say box your purchase. There is no paper bag's, but they do have plastic hanlde bags for sale. If there are no empty boxes available your SOL.

I for see them possibly running 4 Seasons as business is usual. Possibly later on opening up salons by franchising, but these will be in seperate buildings.
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Old 08-31-2004, 09:06 AM   #10 (permalink)
 
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On 2004-08-30 18:16, t-n-t wrote:
Four seasons is a distributor not a lotion manufacturer.so they cannot sell cal-tan,designer skin.etc.in there stores their contracts with the lotion companies restrict it. Who cares who owns them anyways?All you should care about is they dont own tanning salon and still give you a good deal.I only by from URI so I am not sticking up for them.for the Best customer service and people call rick staskus at 800 247-3251.Best owner in the buisness Dave Myers very knowledgeable and very easy to talk with.


I think we realize that they are a distributor, as far as any contracts they may have with manufacturers, who knows what they say. It just seems interesting that a company of their stature would be interested in tanning products as it's latest aquisition. What if WalMart had bought them? Would you be worried then?
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