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KaseyandTheSun 09-22-2013 07:45 PM

Salon Location for a new salon
 
Hey I need some advice! I went and looked at a location the other day for a Tanning salon I want to open, location is in a strip mall, stores include in the mall an Applebee's, Office Depot, Big 5, Ace Hardware, Micheals, Ross, Starbucks Pet Co and a couple little teriakyi places and a Winco. Across the street is a High School and a Community College... what do you think should we take this location? It has 16 rooms already from a previous salon... there is room for a spray room and booth what do u guys think?

peach 09-24-2013 10:54 AM

Re: Salon Location for a new salon
 
I think that it is more about overhead costs than location or even buildout. You have to ask yourself why the previous business person did not make it there. Could be the costs of doing business there made it impossible to be profitable.

Steve Underhill 09-26-2013 02:27 PM

Re: Salon Location for a new salon
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by KaseyandTheSun (Post 15079080)
Hey I need some advice! I went and looked at a location the other day for a Tanning salon I want to open, location is in a strip mall, stores include in the mall an Applebee's, Office Depot, Big 5, Ace Hardware, Micheals, Ross, Starbucks Pet Co and a couple little teriakyi places and a Winco. Across the street is a High School and a Community College... what do you think should we take this location? It has 16 rooms already from a previous salon... there is room for a spray room and booth what do u guys think?

Send me an address so i can pull a demographic report. Lets have a look at the market.

Steve Underhill 09-26-2013 02:33 PM

Re: Salon Location for a new salon
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by peach (Post 15079090)
I think that it is more about overhead costs than location or even build out. You have to ask yourself why the previous business person did not make it there. Could be the costs of doing business there made it impossible to be profitable.

Most salons that fail are due to or a combination of:
Underfunding
Poorly structured business model
Lack of marketing/advertising
Wrong location

The size of the salon may be more than needed, we can determine that by looking closer at this particular market.

peach 09-27-2013 03:51 PM

Re: Salon Location for a new salon
 
Every situation is different. I do not believe there is magic formula to be successful. I have minimal funds, but find a way to be successful, but that is because of my other factors; location, competition, pricing etc. I guess you can always prevail if you have enough financing and patience, but most people have little of these. That is why you have to be creative, and sometimes challenge to accepted norms for the industry.

Black Sun 09-29-2013 04:35 AM

Re: Salon Location for a new salon
 
I would be more concerned as to why the previous salon failed. It may be the business is not there to support it...could it be lack of business savvy of previous owners, lack of property management support from property owner (no parking, no lighting, signage etc),
..no utilities to support (not enough AC/electrical and costly to add)...host of reasons...also, in this day of anti-tanning from a media, govt, and public perspective, I believe a 16 bed salon is overkill. You could decrease that by 50% and be more successful. The industry/business is no longer viable to support 'BIG' salons

parrot head 09-29-2013 07:43 AM

Re: Salon Location for a new salon
 
^^^^^^Exactly. I started in 2005, with 10 tanning units, now have 20. I spent a lot of money to upgrade in order to run 20 units, and now find that I could do just fine with 10 units. The times, they have changed, and continue to get worse, as the future of tanning is on the ropes.

Steve Underhill 09-30-2013 10:18 AM

Re: Salon Location for a new salon
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by parrot head (Post 15079211)
^^^^^^Exactly. I started in 2005, with 10 tanning units, now have 20. I spent a lot of money to upgrade in order to run 20 units, and now find that I could do just fine with 10 units. The times, they have changed, and continue to get worse, as the future of tanning is on the ropes.

You are partially right, tanning is changing, operators must change with the times. Tanners will never go away. Todays business model must be very different than in the past. Those that make proper adjustments will continue to grow.

peach 09-30-2013 01:56 PM

Re: Salon Location for a new salon
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve Underhill (Post 15079223)
You are partially right, tanning is changing, operators must change with the times. Tanners will never go away. Todays business model must be very different than in the past. Those that make proper adjustments will continue to grow.

It is easy to stick with your own "Status Quo" situation. It takes courage and some gambling to stick your neck out there and make some changes. The easiest thing to do is nothing, and blame your poor sales on the economy, competition, location etc. However, it is a lot easier to "change" your salon when you are successful than when you are sliding down hill. Don't be afraid to knock down a wall or two, and add something even if your salon is doing well. Even going from a 32 bulb unit to a 36 or 38 bulb unit will be exciting to your customers. Perception is everything, and if your customers perceive that you are constantly improving the place, they are more likely to stick around. I buy new beds and set them up in my lobby and let people look at them for 3 or 4 weeks, before I install them. It gets everyone's attention and creates excitement.

peach 09-30-2013 02:04 PM

Re: Salon Location for a new salon
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by parrot head (Post 15079211)
^^^^^^Exactly. I started in 2005, with 10 tanning units, now have 20. I spent a lot of money to upgrade in order to run 20 units, and now find that I could do just fine with 10 units. The times, they have changed, and continue to get worse, as the future of tanning is on the ropes.


You can always justify a smaller salon in October. But just wait until March rolls around. I have an 18 bed salon and many customers come to us because they can get in and out quickly. I drive by many of my competitors and see people standing around outside, sitting on the sidewalks, floors etc. That gets old really quick. (another reason, I believe in appointments)


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