Extreme possibilities or total failure? - tanTALK

adam.sand · 02-26-2006, 07:58 PM

Hello,

I have just opened my first of what is planned to be four salons in two years.
Currently the one I have opened is connected to Gold's Gym (seperate businesses but joined areas)
The gym is located in West Edmonton Mall. It is 40 Square blocks, plus there is a hotel, waterpark, amusement park, theatres etc. There is pretty much one of everything in the mall, there has been talk of a reality show where a person will live in the mall for one year. There is 880 shops of which is 64% womens stores, and 21% unisex, and the rest is mens only. Most of the shops however employ women. We have 3 night clubs in the mall as well, and 10 major chain resteraunts as well as 3 food courts. This employs 24-26 thousand people. Serving everyone from babys, to seniors, however most common businesses are "mall lover" traffic so usually 15-30 year olds. It is said that stores on the main hallway see a million views a month, and it is written down that the mall has over 60,000 people walk through it a day not including employees and hotel guests and attractions visitors. So if I stay open an hour before and after all the stores close, and beat the prices of local tanning places with good beds and standups (TX 32 and HEX II 2 of each to start and growing as it gets busy) does it seem like a successful place to be?

Adam

BooBop · 02-26-2006, 08:06 PM

Sounds like you have a great location. But please DO NOT price cut. Get your business by being a nice and well kept place with educated employees. Price Cutting only hurts everyone in the long run, even you!

lady bug · 02-26-2006, 08:37 PM

Good Luck with that...but geesh thats gonna be high rent! Nice place though.

tanman0302 · 02-27-2006, 08:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mitzi

Sounds like you have a great location. But please DO NOT price cut. Get your business by being a nice and well kept place with educated employees. Price Cutting only hurts everyone in the long run, even you!

i agree...and why HEX. They run hot and are far from the best stand ups. DO SOME MORE HOMEWORK!!

Neon Beach · 02-27-2006, 08:12 AM

Rent in the West Edmonton Mall has to be a killer!!

Neon Beach · 02-27-2006, 08:14 AM

For those who are not familiar with the mall...
http://www.westedmontonmall.com/home/default.asp

sunsally · 02-27-2006, 08:40 AM

Mall locations CAN be very successful if you market them right. What scares most folks off is the rent rates.

Stand-ups can work well for folks trying to get in and out quickly, and not get too sweaty. Good A/C is a MUST for this reason too! Consider also a nice "vanity" area (not in the rooms - a bathroom is best if you can as well as an outside area for just quick touch ups) with spray deo, body mist, hair spray, etc. A stack of fresh washclothes or wipes is also nice for those that want to do a "quick clean-up" prior to going to work or shop. A full length mirror and good (and flattering) lighting!

A STRONG target group for you will be mall employees -- not shoppers. Coming to that mall to tan regularly just won't make sense most. Mall employees, and your mall "walkers" though are great. Work QUICKLY with the hotel to get them to include you in their "guest services" book (with a "special" for all hotel guests). Make sure you are in the mall directory.

Put some packages together for those target groups - make them "special". A discounted price with showing some mall I.D. and/or coming at a certain time (e.g. the first 2 hours you are open, for the early morning "walkers"). Don't have to "beat the local tanning salons" - again, your target audience will be those that LIKE to be at the mall or HAVE to be at the mall anyway -- this is their "world". Connect with them that you are part of their "subculture", and stress your convenience for them.

STRONGLY consider doing what was suggested by DCJJP2 on another thread -- recruit some "plants". Pick a few that came in that first day on your special and/or walk around the mall and solicit several to be your "recruiters". They tan free (on your base equipment, discount for upgrade equipment) for every month that they bring you X (5? 10?) new customers. Get a dozen of those and that will be VERY good money spent! Key ones include hotel staff, amusement workers ("hey - you know what is REALLY fun to do here -- go check out the tanning salon!), and the information desk staff!!

Equipment will make or break you in a location like this -- need the early word to be "good" or they won't come back. As for the Hex -- yea - they are "ok", nothing fantastic. Ditto your base beds. Frankly, that isn't going to have them clamoring to be there, and at the end of the day, you can't make enough on that level equipment (and that few pieces) to pay your rent!

Equipment that CAN help attract the "general public" however are things like High Pressure or Spray -- "instant" tanning. They can come in, drop $15-30 and come out immediately (or 4 hours later) with good color. A "double dip" or "spray cocktail" where they do both at a bundled price can be VERY effective! Could start out with air brush rather than a booth - hire a technician. Much lower "start up" costs, although labor intensive.

Your idea is a good one. Now just have to get it kicked off strong so you can get ahead of your costs before they eat you up!

adam.sand · 02-27-2006, 08:52 AM

The rent in the mall is super high, which is why right now we are going at a fairly low price, why dont price cut. Memberships at like Fabutan, and Planet Beach run around 35 - 45 dollars with different initiation fees. Other close businesses charge similar rates or some even higher... 60 or so. Right now I am offering year memberships @ 14.40 bi-weekly. And was planning on doing so until I got at least 150-ish members. Its my strategy to get people in the doors. Because noone knows we are here yet, and everyone is tanning somewhere else, so I need something to get them to seek me out and that has been "introductory rates" and "pre-grand opening sales" Grand opening is May 20th (for Gold's Gym and all of the surrounding gym services like myself, the drycleaning, the juice bar, sandwich shoppe and supplement shop.

As for why I went with HEX, I got it because a lot f the Gold's Gyms from the US recommended them, and a lot of the bodybuilder types in this GOLDS are wanting to go with me BECAUSE I have the HEX. It isnt as impressive to me as it could have been, however I usually go 10 minutes in my competitors beds, and 10 minutes in the HEX and I burnt. I know thats bad, but it means my exposure time is lower, and so would everyone elses, and thus I pay less to tan people. I am not the expert, however I just went with the advice I was given. Plus since I am sort of associated with Gold's Gym I got a sizeable discount. Right now I have two, one in a room, and the other on the floor with a dressing room attached. Perhaps if I find a better standup, I will move the other hex out onto the floor (god I dont want take it apart and put it together again) put on a dressing room and put better standup in the room and future rooms, and do an upgrade program. (good idea?)

I have to deal with what I have for now which is two TX-32 and two hex units. I have room for at least 1 maybe two more floor with dressing room models. Plus 3 rooms empty.

ADAM

Neon Beach · 02-27-2006, 09:03 AM

Can you divulge the rent $$ ?

adam.sand · 02-27-2006, 09:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sunsally

Mall locations CAN be very successful if you market them right. What scares most folks off is the rent rates.

Stand-ups can work well for folks trying to get in and out quickly, and not get too sweaty. Good A/C is a MUST for this reason too! Consider also a nice "vanity" area (not in the rooms - a bathroom is best if you can as well as an outside area for just quick touch ups) with spray deo, body mist, hair spray, etc. A stack of fresh washclothes or wipes is also nice for those that want to do a "quick clean-up" prior to going to work or shop. A full length mirror and good (and flattering) lighting!

That to me seems like a superb idea, and I am going to start it TODAY.

A STRONG target group for you will be mall employees -- not shoppers. Coming to that mall to tan regularly just won't make sense most. Mall employees, and your mall "walkers" though are great. Work QUICKLY with the hotel to get them to include you in their "guest services" book (with a "special" for all hotel guests). Make sure you are in the mall directory.
I have been working the mall employees quite a bit, because your right, they are the ones that can see the convenience of the mall, those and the Gym members, and those alone are enough to make the salon busy. I have this idea that if I can have 1000 of the mall employees able to conveniently access my services, the business will run well in the green. However I have been undercapitalized from the start. So it will take a lot of creativity and "rob from peter to pay paul" kind of financial workings for at LEAST 3 months.

Put some packages together for those target groups - make them "special". A discounted price with showing some mall I.D. and/or coming at a certain time (e.g. the first 2 hours you are open, for the early morning "walkers"). Don't have to "beat the local tanning salons" - again, your target audience will be those that LIKE to be at the mall or HAVE to be at the mall anyway -- this is their "world". Connect with them that you are part of their "subculture", and stress your convenience for them.
You are very right about the "Subculture" this mall is so big, with so many people, its "residents" make it like its another city. You can have 3 of the same businesses in the mall, and all of them will be busy depending whether people like to be in the north or south end of the mall. This is is in the younger crowd area of the mall. More of the "Abercrombie and Fitch, movie theatre, HMV" crowd than the Zellers/Sears/The Bay crowd. However I still have to rebuttal their comments like "I tan here" "this place offers toonie (2$ coin in Canada) tan" etc.
SOOO many of the people in the mall are already tanning somewhere, which is great because the concept of tanning isnt an idea I have to bring to their minds, its just getting them in the doors, and winning them over to my salon, with the beds and standups that I have, because right now, I cant do anything else.

STRONGLY consider doing what was suggested by DCJJP2 on another thread -- recruit some "plants". Pick a few that came in that first day on your special and/or walk around the mall and solicit several to be your "recruiters". They tan free (on your base equipment, discount for upgrade equipment) for every month that they bring you X (5? 10?) new customers. Get a dozen of those and that will be VERY good money spent! Key ones include hotel staff, amusement workers ("hey - you know what is REALLY fun to do here -- go check out the tanning salon!), and the information desk staff!!
This is a spectacular idea, the mall is full of young socialites, many of the younger (18-25) girls work at stores/rest. during the day, and then work in the clubs on the weekend nights, because they are here already. There is a new club opening and one already very established. The one that is opening is just the old club with a new name. I had this idea for a VIP hookup business card that they could hand out and every one that came in and signed a year membership off this card got 5$. Should I adjust this differently? Another idea that has been buzzing around with myself and some of the customers is my idea of a "midnight moonlight" for the club employees to come in and tan right after their shift at the club because most of them work during the day on the weeks, and work at night on the weekends, and are too tired to go tanning most of the time, and it might be busy if I was to offer some kind of price gimmick to get them in here after work, as most of them are fairly energized after work.

Equipment will make or break you in a location like this -- need the early word to be "good" or they won't come back. As for the Hex -- yea - they are "ok", nothing fantastic. Ditto your base beds. Frankly, that isn't going to have them clamoring to be there, and at the end of the day, you can't make enough on that level equipment (and that few pieces) to pay your rent!
We have already made sure there is room to grow, there are 3 rooms open to massage, however no takers yet because the rent is high for the rooms, typically the masseuse type isnt interested in working ON the business as much as it would take to make the business work. So in reality, those rooms will be a bunch of bounced rent checks until I have the money to buy more machines and put them in the rooms. Funny thing is, everyone who has come in to try the HEX units, has loved them. I havent had a single complaint yet.

However I will probably want to get upgrade level equipment in the near future, like I said before, take apart the hex, move it out of the room, put it on the floor and add a dressing room. Then put two new standups in the one room I have, and another room. Then put maybe a high pressure in one room, and a higher intensity laydown in the other (??)

Equipment that CAN help attract the "general public" however are things like High Pressure or Spray -- "instant" tanning. They can come in, drop $15-30 and come out immediately (or 4 hours later) with good color. A "double dip" or "spray cocktail" where they do both at a bundled price can be VERY effective! Could start out with air brush rather than a booth - hire a technician. Much lower "start up" costs, although labor intensive.
I dont know how it would work with the mall. There is spray tanning right across the hallway in a hair salon, they also have a tanning bed but its a 20 bulb no facial tanner dinosaur. Most of the other salons that have Spray Units are trying to get rid of them, so if you have a market that wants spray units, I can get you almost new machines for a good price I am sure. However a business nearby that has a high pressure unit, is making a killing, so maybe I should go that direction.

Your idea is a good one. Now just have to get it kicked off strong so you can get ahead of your costs before they eat you up!

Your absolutely right, I need to get the word out there, and FAST. I seem to be heading in the direction of trying to sign as many yearly memberships as possible because like I mentioned earlier, if I can serve 1000 people in the mall, 1000 memberships at 30 a month, thats 30,000 a month. Now I just need to have the machines to support it.

-ADAM

02-26-2006, 07:58 PM	#1 (permalink)
adam.sand Just a Squirrel Join Date: Feb 25 2006 Location: Edmonton, Alberta Age: 40 Posts: 309 Rep Power: 19	Extreme possibilities or total failure? Hello, I have just opened my first of what is planned to be four salons in two years. Currently the one I have opened is connected to Gold's Gym (seperate businesses but joined areas) The gym is located in West Edmonton Mall. It is 40 Square blocks, plus there is a hotel, waterpark, amusement park, theatres etc. There is pretty much one of everything in the mall, there has been talk of a reality show where a person will live in the mall for one year. There is 880 shops of which is 64% womens stores, and 21% unisex, and the rest is mens only. Most of the shops however employ women. We have 3 night clubs in the mall as well, and 10 major chain resteraunts as well as 3 food courts. This employs 24-26 thousand people. Serving everyone from babys, to seniors, however most common businesses are "mall lover" traffic so usually 15-30 year olds. It is said that stores on the main hallway see a million views a month, and it is written down that the mall has over 60,000 people walk through it a day not including employees and hotel guests and attractions visitors. So if I stay open an hour before and after all the stores close, and beat the prices of local tanning places with good beds and standups (TX 32 and HEX II 2 of each to start and growing as it gets busy) does it seem like a successful place to be? Adam __________________ There is STILL Tanning in West Edmonton Mall! http://fromrigstoriches.wordpress.com Mr. Belvedere wishes he had half of my ideas, and 100% of my nerve. (put here by Belvy himself.. not me lol)

02-26-2006, 08:06 PM	#2 (permalink)
BooBop I love Derf!! Join Date: Apr 5 2001 Age: 66 Posts: 7,766 Rep Power: 28	Re: Extreme possibilities or total failure? Sounds like you have a great location. But please DO NOT price cut. Get your business by being a nice and well kept place with educated employees. Price Cutting only hurts everyone in the long run, even you!

02-26-2006, 08:37 PM	#3 (permalink)
lady bug Join Date: Mar 7 2005 Posts: 395 Rep Power: 24	Re: Extreme possibilities or total failure? Good Luck with that...but geesh thats gonna be high rent! Nice place though. __________________

02-27-2006, 08:12 AM	#5 (permalink)
Neon Beach Join Date: Nov 30 2000 Location: Ontario Age: 61 Posts: 38,594 Rep Power: 107	Re: Extreme possibilities or total failure? Rent in the West Edmonton Mall has to be a killer!! __________________ www.talktimmins.com -- http://www.drjawnswebworx.com/

02-27-2006, 08:14 AM	#6 (permalink)
Neon Beach Join Date: Nov 30 2000 Location: Ontario Age: 61 Posts: 38,594 Rep Power: 107	Re: Extreme possibilities or total failure? For those who are not familiar with the mall... http://www.westedmontonmall.com/home/default.asp __________________ www.talktimmins.com -- http://www.drjawnswebworx.com/

02-27-2006, 08:40 AM	#7 (permalink)
sunsally Team TanTalk Join Date: Nov 23 2004 Location: ITA Member & Berman Supporter! Posts: 3,136 Rep Power: 25	Re: Extreme possibilities or total failure? Mall locations CAN be very successful if you market them right. What scares most folks off is the rent rates. Stand-ups can work well for folks trying to get in and out quickly, and not get too sweaty. Good A/C is a MUST for this reason too! Consider also a nice "vanity" area (not in the rooms - a bathroom is best if you can as well as an outside area for just quick touch ups) with spray deo, body mist, hair spray, etc. A stack of fresh washclothes or wipes is also nice for those that want to do a "quick clean-up" prior to going to work or shop. A full length mirror and good (and flattering) lighting! A STRONG target group for you will be mall employees -- not shoppers. Coming to that mall to tan regularly just won't make sense most. Mall employees, and your mall "walkers" though are great. Work QUICKLY with the hotel to get them to include you in their "guest services" book (with a "special" for all hotel guests). Make sure you are in the mall directory. Put some packages together for those target groups - make them "special". A discounted price with showing some mall I.D. and/or coming at a certain time (e.g. the first 2 hours you are open, for the early morning "walkers"). Don't have to "beat the local tanning salons" - again, your target audience will be those that LIKE to be at the mall or HAVE to be at the mall anyway -- this is their "world". Connect with them that you are part of their "subculture", and stress your convenience for them. STRONGLY consider doing what was suggested by DCJJP2 on another thread -- recruit some "plants". Pick a few that came in that first day on your special and/or walk around the mall and solicit several to be your "recruiters". They tan free (on your base equipment, discount for upgrade equipment) for every month that they bring you X (5? 10?) new customers. Get a dozen of those and that will be VERY good money spent! Key ones include hotel staff, amusement workers ("hey - you know what is REALLY fun to do here -- go check out the tanning salon!), and the information desk staff!! Equipment will make or break you in a location like this -- need the early word to be "good" or they won't come back. As for the Hex -- yea - they are "ok", nothing fantastic. Ditto your base beds. Frankly, that isn't going to have them clamoring to be there, and at the end of the day, you can't make enough on that level equipment (and that few pieces) to pay your rent! Equipment that CAN help attract the "general public" however are things like High Pressure or Spray -- "instant" tanning. They can come in, drop $15-30 and come out immediately (or 4 hours later) with good color. A "double dip" or "spray cocktail" where they do both at a bundled price can be VERY effective! Could start out with air brush rather than a booth - hire a technician. Much lower "start up" costs, although labor intensive. Your idea is a good one. Now just have to get it kicked off strong so you can get ahead of your costs before they eat you up!

02-27-2006, 08:52 AM	#8 (permalink)
adam.sand Just a Squirrel Join Date: Feb 25 2006 Location: Edmonton, Alberta Age: 40 Posts: 309 Rep Power: 19	Re: Extreme possibilities or total failure? The rent in the mall is super high, which is why right now we are going at a fairly low price, why dont price cut. Memberships at like Fabutan, and Planet Beach run around 35 - 45 dollars with different initiation fees. Other close businesses charge similar rates or some even higher... 60 or so. Right now I am offering year memberships @ 14.40 bi-weekly. And was planning on doing so until I got at least 150-ish members. Its my strategy to get people in the doors. Because noone knows we are here yet, and everyone is tanning somewhere else, so I need something to get them to seek me out and that has been "introductory rates" and "pre-grand opening sales" Grand opening is May 20th (for Gold's Gym and all of the surrounding gym services like myself, the drycleaning, the juice bar, sandwich shoppe and supplement shop. As for why I went with HEX, I got it because a lot f the Gold's Gyms from the US recommended them, and a lot of the bodybuilder types in this GOLDS are wanting to go with me BECAUSE I have the HEX. It isnt as impressive to me as it could have been, however I usually go 10 minutes in my competitors beds, and 10 minutes in the HEX and I burnt. I know thats bad, but it means my exposure time is lower, and so would everyone elses, and thus I pay less to tan people. I am not the expert, however I just went with the advice I was given. Plus since I am sort of associated with Gold's Gym I got a sizeable discount. Right now I have two, one in a room, and the other on the floor with a dressing room attached. Perhaps if I find a better standup, I will move the other hex out onto the floor (god I dont want take it apart and put it together again) put on a dressing room and put better standup in the room and future rooms, and do an upgrade program. (good idea?) I have to deal with what I have for now which is two TX-32 and two hex units. I have room for at least 1 maybe two more floor with dressing room models. Plus 3 rooms empty. ADAM __________________ There is STILL Tanning in West Edmonton Mall! http://fromrigstoriches.wordpress.com Mr. Belvedere wishes he had half of my ideas, and 100% of my nerve. (put here by Belvy himself.. not me lol)

02-27-2006, 09:03 AM	#9 (permalink)
Neon Beach Join Date: Nov 30 2000 Location: Ontario Age: 61 Posts: 38,594 Rep Power: 107	Re: Extreme possibilities or total failure? Can you divulge the rent $$ ? __________________ www.talktimmins.com -- http://www.drjawnswebworx.com/

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