tanu01

Tony


Join Date: Jan 30 2007
Location: Naples FL
Posts: 314
Rep Power: 8


Re: Only if................
Quote:
Originally Posted by tanu01
Back in the mid 90's I did that and more in less than a year with 12 base units.
Before the cowboys

I made more then 100k some months at one store in the mid 90's. Those days are long gone Tan!

tanu01

The days are long gone.......................... In my opinion here's why.................

Back in the late 80's we completely ingnored the cosmetic bomb barding us with the anti tan message, Are first very large mistake.

Then there were distributors/manf like ETS who wanted a tanning salon on every corner so they could sell more beds.

Then the salon owners who were making money really really did not hide the fact, and soon every one with a few pennies decided they wanted in on the action.

Then when we had a salon on every corner, the price wars began.

Then began the mega salons, 50 or more units. they thought by lowering prices even more they could take over the industrie.

I'm sure there are alot more dumb things we did.

The 9.99 saons will end up being just another knife in our coffens.

CrystalSS

I bet the video store owners asked similar questions.

House of Tan

Free market

Always best for the consumer and that is the way it should be IMO.

You either innovate or die a slow death.

I think Tony said it best: If you charge what the market can bear, you are inviting competition.

Things are not what they used to be; true. I used to do $300k-$400k with just 14 beds and 10 of them were 28 lamp units.

Where are the hardware stores? Where are the Shoe cobblers? Where are the… ?

What do you think gas stations think about Soda Stream and Coke’s new in-home unit?

Just be thankful that technology has not yet reached the point that you can tan at home in front of your LED TV. (hint, hint)

3-D printers will put many out of business in the next 15 years, they are even stamping out LIVE brain cells now… LIVE! Now that is some crazy stuff.

The Molecular age is now starting; imagine what is coming. Just think what the information age did. I think Melanotan was just the tip of the iceberg coming our way… they will perfect it. Then what?

__________________
Startbucks

CrystalSS

The building attached to my salon...old grocery store...was bought by a church for 2.1 million. They are doing a 1.3 million dollar build out. Are we in the wrong business or what? I now have the power of prayer on my side...literally.

Robert K

My first store was:
2,200sf
$2,500 a month rent
Cost $52,000 to open
Grossed 600K in its best year
The year we opened was 1993

__________________
Robert Klem
Superior UV Technologies
(888) 526-7712 x77
robertk@superioruv.com

peach

With the $9.99 stores, the consumer is not getting the best that this industry has to offer; just like McDonalds is not the best that the culinary world has to offer. You give up variety and other amenities for a budget and convenience. Its called "market segmentation".They will take a segment of the indoor tanning market, but not all of it.

The bigger issue is the shrinking pie that is the indoor tanning industry. In the 1980's and 90's the indoor tanning industry was growing (ie the number of people interested doing indoor tanning). I think that peaked around 1998-99. From there, the pie started shrinking with all of the negative publicity. The industry leadership did not take the threat from the liberal dermatology /medical industry seriously. Instead they told us everything would be alright; we just needed to "educate" them. A serious mistake and 10 years or more wasted.

The industry leadership is still to this day, paralyzed with fear and indecision.

Also, in the 2000's, the era of cheap and easy money helped people with no means and no clue about how to run a business let alone a tanning salon, borrow money, with no experience, collateral or business plan. New salons were started in mass as the industry was actually contracting. There had to be a correction and their was. Unfortunately, many of these new salons took down many established business owners and salons with them. (you can only divide a pie so many ways).

So that is the past, so where do we go from here? That is uncertain. my suggestions are, for starters:

1) Elect conservatives (not republicans)-conservatives are not normally in the business of limiting the freedoms of the people. or eliminating entire industries. Liberals have no problem doing that.

2) Elect some tanning leadership that has a spine. The survival of the whole industry is at stake. When your leadership is constantly telling you what they cannot do, you know they have no spine.

3) Develop a strategy of public education that focuses not on medical claims, but the facts of UV light and the blatant hypocrisy of the medical industry,

4) Rebrand ourselves-We sell UV light, not tanning.

5) Create a decent set of talking points for anyone communicating with the public about UV light, so that we do not look stupid at the local level. Those points are not the ones we are being told to use today.

tanu01

Much better said than I.

Tony

The real reasons why our market is shrinking and not
in any particular order:

1) UV Media attacks
2) aging population
3) Changing demographics
4) decreasing wages
5) $4 gas
6) Lack of industry innovation
7) Inexpensive DHA products at all retailers


Most of your will think media attacks is doing the most
damage and it certainly may be but several of the other 6
reasons i mentioned would be right up there too.

TV's are cheaper, Music is cheaper, note pads are cheaper etc
so why does everyone whine about less expensive tanning?
You have to learn how to make as much money as you did before
with less margin. It can be done. Its the natural evolution of most
industries! We made the transition. Most cant!

peach

In he heyday of the Tanning Industry, 1 in 10 people were indoor tanners. That is about 35 million people. The big boom times we all so fondly remember. That was with mostly small stores owned by mom's and pops that opened stores that cost what 1 new HP bed cost now.

Now, most people under 18 do not tan because they are barred by law or scared to. How many of that 35m are not tanning because of that? Now, big money has entered the Tanning market, putting salons on every street corner. Most single store operators will not be able to compete with the buying power and efficiency they bring to the market place. That is a business concept called "economies of scale". We are told now by industry experts that you need to be prepared to put 250k at a minimum to start a new store. Who has or can borrow 250k? Only the very wealthy and well connected.

So you have all these wealthy people chasing fewer and fewer tanners. The younger generations have been totally turned against indoor tanning. The economy has sucked since 911, The baby boomers are dying off. The country is full of Mexicans who already have a good tan. And you can't make a buck unless you spend 250k first. Tony, you make a really good case there.

How am I still in the this industry?