The Top 250 Report

The Top 250 Report
Saluting The Top Salons

by Judie Bizzozero

Welcome to the seventh compilation of Top 250 Salons in the United States. Since 2000, the editors of LOOKING FIT® have worked to identify some of the country’s most innovative, professionally committed and fastest-growing tanning salons. The past few years have been make-or-break years for many salons. Many had high hopes that 2005 would be the rebound year, but a majority of salons reported that foot traffic was down and sales were flat to a little above par. However, more than half of the salons surveyed reported some margin of growth. They attributed success to increasing their dollars-per-customer ratio, upgrading equipment and offering a range of tanning levels to satisfy their customers.

Judging from the responses to the survey, it’s clear that the $5 billion indoor tanning industry stood strong through another year of economic uncertainties. In talking to hundreds of salon owners and managers, the 2006 season kicked off strong during the Christmas holidays and was gaining momentum as of press time. The vast majority were enthusiastic about the 2006 season and very optimistic that this is the year to start climbing out of the valley.

The selection process was not taken lightly, and salons were chosen from surveys submitted from June through Nov. 11, 2005. In order to be impartial, forms submitted after the deadline were not allowed in the judging.

Nominations came from industry manufacturers, distributors and industry veterans. A list of notable tanning salons visited during past LOOKING FIT® Tanning Tours™ also was added, and those recommendations were combined with a collection of in-magazine and online surveys sent in by salon owners and managers.

As in years past, the judging committee conducted hundreds of phone interviews to gather and verify information for the most accurate listing possible. We took extra care to inform participants in the survey how important it was for them to provide accurate information about their tanning facilities and the kind of business they do within a typical year—both during the busy season and off-season.

The panel also included the National Tanning Training Institute, and a salon’s participation in certification programs and ongoing training and education was factored into the judging. This was especially important for salons in states where certification is voluntary. A salon’s involvement in its community, charities and other public-service activities also weighed into the judging.

Once again, I personally contacted each and every salon that made it to the final round of judging. Every effort was made to gather precise information to lay an equal playing field for all of our respondents. In the end, we relied on the truthfulness of the salon owners who provided us with information.

Since so many variables contribute to a salon’s success, we looked at each salon separately, judging on the caliber of business it does based on the kind of salon it runs. The survey asked participants to provide in-depth information regarding their tanning businesses including the number of salons owned, how many years in business, types of services offered, total number of units at each salon, the types of tanning units, number of tanning levels, average price per session and the types of retail products carried in the salons.

Confidential statistics used in the selection process also included a salon’s 2005 gross revenue, percentage of growth (or decline) over 2004 gross revenue, projected revenue for 2006, and percentages of monthly revenue generated from lotion sales, tanning and other services. We also factored in whether a salon participated in certification training, took part in ongoing education, provided educational materials to customers, offered incentives or bonuses to employees, etc. We also weighed if salons skin typed clients prior to initial exposure and if they care enough about their business to carry liability insurance. We also asked salons about specific factors that affected their overall business. All these variables were judged on an even playing field to rank the salons.

The Top 250 Salons listing is alphabetized by state in five regions: Northeast; East and Southeast; Central and Southern U.S.; Northern and Upper Midwest; and Midwest and Western U.S. The chart is broken down into number of tanning salons owned, years in business, total number of units, brands of units, services offered, average session price and whether a salon is certified. Salons were asked to submit separate surveys for each of their locations. If a salon owner owned facilities in different states, those salons were judged in the appropriate state and region.

The total number of units section reflects the total number of pieces of tanning equipment and sunless standup equipment for all locations. For example, if a salon has two locations— each with 20 tanning units and two sunless standups—then the total number of units equals 44. We modified this section last year at the request of salon owners who pointed out that expense of a sunless unit equals or exceeds the cost of a tanning unit and should be factored into a salon’s equipment investment.

For additional facts and figures regarding the growth of the industry, please refer to page 14. The statistics were calculated from the overall Top 250 Salons survey responses across the country. These numbers were gleaned from hundreds of confidential surveys.

We congratulate the thousands of tanning facilities nationwide that have helped contribute to the professionalism and education in the indoor tanning industry. Although we know that this listing is not necessarily inclusive of every salon that would merit a listing, we feel it is a true listing of those who participated in the survey. Due to the competitive nature of our industry, it is sometimes difficult to get salons to participate and share their success; in other cases, they are more than cooperative. We believe it is important to continue to publish this list, since no other association or magazine tracks this information within the indoor tanning industry.