That's Entertainment

That's Entertainment
Total Entertainment Salons Get Great Reviews

by Hollie Costello

Michelle & Paul Kelm, Total Entertainment owners

Attempting to mix video rentals and indoor tanning may sound like a strange proposition, however, box office receipts are in and salons throughout the country are taking note. With more than 2,000 salons mixing the two "genres," Total Entertainment Buyer's Group has stumbled onto a formula of success in the world of mixing tanning with other services. With 38 Total Entertainment centers nationwide, Ted Engen, president of Video Buyer's Group and coordinator of Total Entertainment, is feeling like "the king of the world."

The Idea

Engen had been in video rental for more than 20 years when he decided his stores needed a new twist. The rental industry was maturing, small stores were being shut out by large chains and without a niche market, there really was nowhere to go. As he cast about for suggestions, many of the video store owners he knew suggested indoor tanning--a field they had dabbled in themselves, some with success, some without.

According to Engen, he first thought people were joking when he was approached with the idea of mixing tanning and video. However, after crunching some numbers, Engen decided they could be right and, in 1995, started a number of tanning-video rental stores. Their name? Total Entertainment. Now, with 38 "salons" nationwide, Total Entertainment is laughing all the way to the bank with some stores pulling in more than $1 million in revenue per year.

Most of the salons, according to Engen, are located in small- to medium-sized towns and cities, where there is little competition. They often are the only tanning or video store in town, sometimes allowing owners to add more money-making opportunities to the shop, such as magazines or a beauty shop. Engen, as well as the other owners, is eager to try new mixes and encourages owners to do "what they think is best" with their salon.

"It is simply amazing how well tanning and videos fit together," he says. "The slow days for video are Monday through Thursday, which are the best days for tanning. It is the same during the year, with the tanning season starting in the spring and fall, which happens to be the a slow time for video rental."

Engen adds that mixing tanning and video was an important leap for the company, moving Total Entertainment up the list of the top 100 companies list to number 14 in just its third year--an unequaled leap by a small company.

Selling the idea to Hollywood has been a little more difficult as many studios want to make sure equal floor space was allocated for each business. Depending on the video sales, the store can be no more then 50 percent ancillary services and revenues are measured by what is producing the most revenue per square foot.

"Some of our centers a have a little bit of everything," he says. "The store in Rolla, Mo., for instance, offers videos, music, magazines, games, pizza, massage therapy, a beauty salon and tanning. As long as it is successful, we aren't really strict on what owners mix together."

The Script

Though Total Entertainment does not tell owners what to do with their space, there are certain markets the company approves of--markets that blend naturally with either of the businesses. The Rolla, Mo. store is a good example. Engen says his company did not decide to allow the food and the beauty salon on a whim, much research was done to prove they could be viable businesses.

"Research is an important aspect of any kind of business," he says. "Now that the tanning industry also is maturing, people are having to deal with competition, not for the almighty dollar but for people's time."

Total Entertainment does a lot of research when it is approached by a potential new center. Aided by SUN Ergoline, one of the first companies to help create video/tanning centers nationwide, Total Entertainment provides owners who are interested in becoming part of the group an investment analysis, a demographic profile and marketing support in addition to help with design of the salon if the owner wants it.

"We offer suggestions for décor but there are no specific requirements," he says. "We have Total Entertainment's that are 23,000 square feet and ones that are 3,000 square feet. The important part is to maximize the space."

In addition, Total Entertainment brings in owners and operators for training sessions before the salon opens and continues to offer training to those who wish to take it. The company also helps the buyer with licensing if the state is regulated and works with SUN Ergoline to see that everyone is trained on the new equipment.

Engen says the salons are encouraged to stay with the larger, high-performance beds and to bring in lotions they feel will sell in their area. The company has chosen to deal exclusively with SUN Ergoline for equipment. Lotions, however, are more across the board, with California Tan and Supre being large sellers for the group. Additionally, the company now is looking at creating a private label lotion to draw even more profits.

"We like the idea of branding," Engen says. "We want the Total Entertainment name to be well known throughout the nation."

The Cast

With Total Entertainment branding their unique style of business, many in the indoor tanning industry see the look as a kind of chain. However, what looks like a chain and feels like a chain is, in fact, not a chain at all. Total Entertainment works as a buying group, offering a brand name and the research they have done in the field of mixing mediums in return for fees for the right to use the brand name. Engen says the buying group works better than a chain store would because it provides owners more freedom to create their own business.

"A huge increase in cash flow was seen by adding tanning beds, we let owners decide what else will generate that kind of cash flow per square foot in their town," he says. "That is how we continue our success."

Total Entertainment also stresses certification of all employees because education is one of the reasons the company is so successful.

"We may have people starting out who have been in the video business for a number of years," he notes. "They know marketing, they know selling but they don't know tanning. We want them to understand the business they will have to try to market and we want them to keep customers tanning responsibly."

The company also knows that in this day of the strong economy and low unemployment rate, Total Entertainment stores are competing for people's time, not just their money. That is why videos and tanning mix so well. They are both luxuries that require time, not necessarily large amounts of money.

The Promotion

When all is said and done, Engen says the business is all about marketing. Most people who tan don't expect to see a video store attached and people looking for a video are not necessarily looking to tan. However, by cross marketing the industries, Total Entertainment stores have become very successful.

"Our marketing has won awards with the innovative way we cross-market the business," he says. "The Video Buyers Group has been around for a long time--15 years--and we know how to market to the consumer; however, that doesn't mean we aren't willing to try something new. Our doors, like our minds, are always open."

The company encourages promotion in many mediums, from newspapers to giving away free movie rentals with a tanning package. They offer posters to hang on the walls of the salon "Coming Soon--Tanning Near You" and work with the salons that have Hollywood themes in their salon.

"Some of the businesses have their rooms named for movie stars, such as the Marilyn Monroe room or the James Dean room," Engen says.

Cross-marketing also has come in handy when promoting the buyer's group. New Line Cinema, a movie production company, helped sponsor a party for members of the buyer's group that attended LOOKING FIT's 10th Annual International Tanning Trade Expo in November.

"That is the first time a movie studio has sponsored an event in conjunction with the indoor tanning industry," he says. "But it won't be the last."

Studios are encouraged by what they see as a successful mix, often recommending cross promotions and releases. Engen says video studios that produce exercise videos or work-out tapes also have expressed interest in selling their videos at some of the Total Entertainment stores.

That's a Wrap

The future success of the Total Entertainment stores is limitless. In fact, Engen is encouraged by the number of salon owners looking to expand into larger markets, cities and states that will provide direct competition with his company.

"We are no longer competing for money," he says. "We are competing for time. The average woman, age 18 to 45 has 1.3 hours of free time a day. The average man in the same age group has 1.7 hours of free time. That is barely enough time for some people to plan to tan, much less watch a movie. Our concept allows us not to have to compete against other businesses as well as other video stores or tanning salons. We have all the other businesses with us, under one roof."