Ultraviolet Resources International

Ultraviolet Resources International
Fighting For The Common Salon Owner

by Scott Eric Barrett

URI is a subsidiary of Efficient Lighting Sales Co. founded in 1976 by Clarke and headquartered in Brook Park, Ohio. The company prides itself in meeting the challenges of the indoor tanning industry and offering quality, reliability and value to salon owners.

"Our efforts have come to symbolize innovation and integrity throughout the industry," he says. "My father, Floyd Clarke, started this venture hoping it could be a business for me to run until college. We initially sold general lighting products to commercial and industrial establishments. It eventually evolved into a very nice, profitable business that not only paid my way through college, but turned into a full-time career afterward."

In 1984, a customer wanted to buy a Westinghouse black-light lamp for use in a tanning bed. Clarke was intrigued so he investigated and realized that the indoor tanning market was starting to blossom. That was the beginning of what has turned out to be a very long, lasting successful business venture.

"The reason we have been so successful is that we are 100-percent committed to the industry," he says. "We do not sell other non-related paraphernalia that does not tie directly to the commercial tanning business. Of course I could not have gotten this far without great employees and great customers." Clarke's employees include his wife, Kathy, and her three brothers and two sisters.

Although tanning lamps were URI's initial offering, the company soon realized how important it was to offer lotions, equipment and related products to the salons as well. Salon owners always want more selection, so URI continues to stock more of the products they want, Clarke says.

"Timely delivery of orders is priority one," he says. "Therefore, we opened order-fulfillment centers in Florida and California to dramatically cut delivery times to our customers. We also offer in-house education seminars for Ohio salon owners and their employees to meet the state training requirements, and we participate with other accredited training programs throughout the country to meet the education/training needs of salons everywhere."

In 1997, URI extended its family to include International Tanning Technologies (ITT)--a tanning-bed manufacturer specializing in Sunsource equipment, which features all-steel construction and state-of-the-art, quality components. ITT is the only tanning-bed manufacturer to offer a choice of lamps for salon owners--including Light Sources, Cosmedico Light and Wolff System--to customize their tanning experience, Clarke says.

"ITT's growth has been very impressive," he says. "The Sunsource equipment turned out to be a gold mine for us. We developed the equipment after years of feedback from people and finding out what salon operators like and don't like. Efficiency is key. Our beds do the job in the same amount of time as the big beds but save salon owners money up front. The bottom line is that a 10-minute session is a 10-minute session whether you are in a 60-lamp bed or a 32-lamp bed."

With the emergence of ITT and the boom in the indoor tanning market in the late 1990s, the company needed more space--a lot more--to keep up with its growth. When Clarke moved into a 45,000-square-foot facility in Brook Park in the first week of 2001, he says it was like "heaven on earth."

The tanning market is getting more mature, Clarke says. "If you are going to supply product to salons, you really have to have the space to handle the demand because these people want stuff right now," he says. "Our previous facilities were located on the second floor of an old industrial building. The rent was cheap, but it wasn't efficient enough for our growing needs, so we elected to look into buying an existing building or constructing a new one from scratch. It turned out to be more feasible, for tax reasons, to build something new."

In addition to increasing the company's overall efficiency, the new building helped with URI's image. "We've always been a professional company, but unfortunately people often judge a book by its cover," he says. "This building gives us a lot more credibility and impresses potential customers. It's a fantastic location. We're right off Cleveland's main highway and about five minutes from the airport."

Staying Dedicated To Salons

Clarke believes it's important for URI to stay loyal to its core customers--salon owners--so URI only carries products that are offered in tanning salons.

"We strive to protect the commercial salon owner," he says. "There are a lot of products that are offered by manufacturers that are dual-purpose for the commercial tanning salon and private home use. We don't believe in supporting these kinds of companies. They want to have their cake and eat it too. It's not a good idea in terms of the industry's future."

URI doesn't just preach about supporting salons--it gets out there on a grassroots level. With its sponsor, California Tan, URI is promoting indoor tanning for local salon owners through a statewide billboard campaign. Each billboard features the words "Go Tanning" amid palm leaves and blue sky, along with a salon's name, address and phone number, and pictures of several Cal Tan products.

"We need to work with salons and try to get the word out to the end user," Clarke says. "End users don't find out much about tanning other than the negative stuff they hear in the media. It's something a tanning salon would never be able to afford because billboards aren't cheap. The salons are obviously very happy with it. It's a great partnership and we have had great feedback from it. It's expensive, but it's simply the best way to create public awareness. I really feel that salon owners need all the help they can get."

In the last year, URI has seen great commercial success with the new Brilliance Euro-Power and Aurora Gold by Light Sources. For additional profit items, URI is the exclusive distributor of the Super-Cool Ice Towel. For after-tan use, this product cools and refreshes the tanner, especially after the room starts to heat up, Clarke says. When it comes to equipment, ITT's vertical STS booth is a top seller.

"We view ourselves as a salon owner's paradise for all he or she needs under one roof," Clarke says.

Ultraviolet Resources International (URI) is one of the largest companies in the world specializing in UV lighting and related products. Since 1984, the family owned and operated company has served the industry as a one-stop shop for salon operators in all stages of their salon journey, and particularly for industry newcomers. Douglas H. Clarke, the company's president and CEO, says URI has been in business for more than 18 years and has a staff with more than 60 years of combined experience.

"We can offer quality advice that will prevent newcomers from reinventing the wheel, thus leading to a savings of quite possibly thousands of dollars from the get-go," he says. "And not only do we sell at wholesale pricing, our advice is totally free."