Recognizing the Best

Recognizing the Best
A Time To Shine

by Rick Mattoon

For the fourth straight year, LOOKING FIT® editors have succeeded in identifying the most innovative, professionally committed and fastest-growing indoor tanning salons in the United States. No other organization effectively tracks this information within the industry.

Salons were chosen from a list of countless surveys submitted over the last six months. As in the past, in order to accurately evaluate and categorize the salons that participated in the Top 250 Salons survey, and because of the unbalanced densities of salons across the country, we have categorized them by U.S. region.

Setting The Stage

Where do you start compiling such a list? First, we asked industry manufacturers and distributors to provide us with a list of salons they would recommend as some of the best in the country. We then added names of the tanning salons with which we were personally impressed while conducting Tanning Tours, and included past winners of the LOOKING FIT® Salon Accomplishment Awards. With those recommendations in hand, as well as an impressive collection of in-magazine and online surveys sent by LOOKING FIT® readers, we began our demanding pursuit of excellence.

In addition to spending hundreds of hours reviewing surveys, our staff made phone calls to gather and validate precise information to create an equal playing field from coast to coast. However, in the end, we relied on the openness of the salon owners who provided us with information. For that reason, we carefully informed participants how important it was for them to provide straightforward information about their tanning facilities and the kind of business they do year-round.

Additionally, we paid critical attention to those salons that advanced the image and professionalism of indoor tanning by way of professional training and certification as well as community involvement through various charities and benefits. We also took into consideration those salons that operated under a set of standards that are consistent with accepted and required procedures for the professional operation of an indoor tanning facility.

Those Who Contributed

While we realize no listing could contain every salon meriting inclusion among the best, we believe the Top 250 listing is a true reflection of those that took the time and effort to participate in the survey. Due to the competitive nature of our industry, it is occasionally difficult to get salons to participate and share their success; in most cases, however, they were more than cooperative.

The survey asked participants to provide the number of salons they own, how many years they've been in business, and the total number of tanning units in their facilities. We also asked owners what other services they offered, such as nails, travel, hair and day-spa amenities, as well as what retail products they carried in their salons. Although the information was not published here, we asked participating salons to provide their 2002 gross revenue and the projected revenue for 2003, along with the percentage of monthly income their salons generate in lotion sales. All information was factored into the rankings.

We also took into account--and ranked accordingly--the salons that participated in one or more certification programs. This was factored more appropriately in states where certification was not mandated but voluntary. Each salon's level of professionalism also was ranked by accounting for their participation in continuing education above and beyond basic certification. Additionally, a salon's community commitment was determined by its participation in charities and other public-service activities.

Ultimately, we evaluated the fine distinctions among the salons firsthand by examining hundreds of salon surveys and speaking to countless salon owners and managers. The editors at LOOKING FIT® congratulate the tens of thousands of tanning facilities nationwide that helped contribute to the expanding level of professionalism within the indoor tanning industry.