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Old 06-30-2005, 08:05 AM   #1 (permalink)
 
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I am opening a salon in a neighboring town. I have listed gathered the demographics from that area and was wondering if I could get some advice on:
How many beds to start with?
What levels and what manufacturer?

Town 1- Pop. 9915 73% caucasian
Town 2- Pop. 10578 90% caucasian
Town 3- Pop. 2763 83% caucasian
All three of these towns run together and overlap. There is not a exculsive tanning salon. There is only beds in nail & hair salons. Thanks!
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Old 06-30-2005, 09:21 AM   #2 (permalink)
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In that case...I might look into ETS beds. A lot would disagree with me...but for your situation , I think they would be a great bed and a lot of bang for your buck. How many beds ?
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Old 06-30-2005, 10:46 AM   #3 (permalink)
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Price is related to quality. If it seems "too good to be true" compared to other brands, there is a reason for that. Commercial tanning beds (hopefully) take a lot of wear and tear in a busy salon. If you plan to be in business for more than a couple of years, it's nice to know your equipment will hold up.

The projections are that 10% of the population tans. 73% caucasian may be less. Age/gender makes a difference too --- many more women than men, primarily ages 16-46 (or so).

Beds in nail & hair salons can be convenient and "friendly" in small towns.

Do a LOT of research on this site and in general before plunging in (unless it is already too late!)
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Old 06-30-2005, 01:51 PM   #4 (permalink)
 
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No, not too late. I have been doing a lot of scouting around. I have several locations I am considering. I new builing close to the main highway and 1 in the wal-mart shopping center. Either way I have construction and all that goes with it.
Today I went to a "exclusive" tanning salon and it was not eye appealing. The walls were lilac and lime neon green and the only waiting area were some plastic deck chairs. Very cheap and the rooms didn't have ceilings. I look very run down.
I was considering 5-7 beds max and a aqua massage machine. I am aimimg for an immaculate salon with a unscale feeling but at fair prices.
What levels of beds?
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Old 06-30-2005, 01:53 PM   #5 (permalink)
 
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oops! It looks very run down? Why do you see typos after you hit enter?
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Old 06-30-2005, 06:45 PM   #6 (permalink)
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In general I advise a ten unit salon to start out with room to add maybe five more units over time. With the lack of an "all tanning, all the time" competitor I would bet you would do well. I recommend the Tan America equipment and Mystic Tan for sunless. 5 base units, 3 mid levels, a whopper, and a spray booth. I would wait on the stand for a while and get a feel for demand by polling your customers from time to time to see how much interest there is for one. Planned expansion (assuming you have room for five) might be one more base unit, 2-3 more mid levels, a stand up, and an HP. Hope this helps. Good luck.
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Old 07-01-2005, 11:01 PM   #7 (permalink)
 
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Thanks for the advice. I this will help a lot!!!
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Old 07-01-2005, 11:44 PM   #8 (permalink)
 
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Don't sell yourself short. Even if you do not have too much competition now, set the barrier of entry a litle higher than Tan America or ETS.

If you have mostly caucasion in your area go for a bed with a little less UVB. Look at European units too. They tend to give a more brown natural looking color. Not quite as ORANGIE.

As far as sunless goes, try Magictan. Their new booths are maintenance free and way classier looking than anything else out there.

R
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Old 07-02-2005, 12:00 AM   #9 (permalink)
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sbogart -

Hopefully you've been starting to read through the many threads here in the archives and start to get a "feel" for some of your questions from others asked like them in the past.

Lots of factors when choosing beds - price, "look", service accessibility, durability, and of course performance. Something like Tan America has a nice price, great service, long-time durability, ease of maintaining for a salon owner and good performance. Little higher price. ETS would be less on price, but also traditionally less durable and lower performing. Other brands line up in still different ways. You'll have to figure out how to prioritize those various things according to what is more important to YOU, and that will help you decide.

I generally agree with MrB re. minimum of 10 bed with room for another 5. With your demographics and other existing equipment however, think that might be overkill. Depends on if your population area is in growth mode, decline, or staying stagnant.

Aqua massage? Research that one CAREFULLY. They seem like such a good idea, but in practice, VERY few salons have found they actually produce revenue as hoped, or as well as a tanning bed in their place would do.

Overall - minimum of 3 levels. As Mrb says - a "base bed" (usually 28-34 lamps, no facials), Level 2 (usually more lamps, oftentimes HP facials, typically VHO - 160W lamps in canopy), and a "big bed" for Level 3 (even more lamps - close to 50 - higher wattage, definitely HP facials, sometimes "special" features (shoulder tanners, etc). With 6 beds, do 3/2/1. If 8 beds, probably 4/3/1. No stand-up unless your market is absolutely CLAMMORING for one - or you have a minimum of 10 "other" beds and can afford to dedicate a room to the standup.

Good luck!

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Old 07-02-2005, 02:25 AM   #10 (permalink)
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[quote]
On 2005-07-01 22:44:00, ramee wrote:
Don't sell yourself short. Even if you do not have too much competition now, set the barrier of entry a litle higher than Tan America or ETS.

Okay, I am confused! I understand the "negative ETS" stuff, although they have made huge improvements and make a couple of great levels...

I do not understand the shoot higher than
a Tan America entry level?
What is better?
I am a new TA owner, but I am pretty sure if there was a major bomb that hit 100 yards away from the TA bed, it would still be there and working....so what is better?
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