Carry more product than you need and you tie up cash flow. Run low on product and you miss valuable sales. Smart salons know how to play this sensitive balancing act, while building up retail sales that pump up profitability.

Aveda Institute
Provo, UT
avedainspiregreatness.com
Dale LeMonds
SQUARE FEET: 16,000
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 18
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $15
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Aveda
COLOR: Aveda
SKINCARE: Aveda
NAILCARE: OPI, Debra Lippman
TECH SUPPORT: SpaBiz, Demandforce, Sales Force
ASSOCIATIONS: PBA, AACS
“We house a retail space known as our Experience Center that is approximately 800 square feet, roughly 20% of our institute’s total space. It has six retail shelving units and a focus/launch pad for new products, along with two towers that are dedicated to men’s and travel products.”

An inside look at Bii Natural Salon & Shop in Westside Dundee, Illinois.
An inside look at Bii Natural Salon & Shop in Westside Dundee, Illinois.

Bii Natural Salon & Shop
West Dundee, IL
biihairsalon.com
James Gartner and Adam Swanlund
SQUARE FEET: 2,000
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 11
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $50
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Surface, Loma
COLOR: Rusk, Redken, Pulp Riot
TECH SUPPORT: Booker, Frederick, Wunderlist
ASSOCIATIONS: PBA
“We use mirror clings and a salon spotlight table to feature product promotions. Each station has a glass retail shelf and we work with a local graphic designer to create promotional materials that fit our natural and eco-friendly brand and ensures materials are produced in an eco-friendly manner as well.”

The team from Bijou in Skaneatales, New York. s
The team from Bijou in Skaneatales, New York. s

Bijou
Skaneateles, NY
bijousalon.net
Kimberly Baker-Bringas
SQUARE FEET: 1,400
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 18
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $37
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Aveda, Bumble and Bumble, Eufora
COLOR: Goldwell, Wella, Pulp Riot
SKINCARE: Aveda, Dermalogica
NAILCARE: OPI, Essie, CND
TECH SUPPORT: Salonultimate
ASSOCIATIONS: PBA
“When a retail order comes in, every product is physically counted and verified against the order and packing list. The barcode of each product is scanned into our software. As the product quantity is adjusted, the cost for the items are verified and modified if necessary.”

The team from Cutting Loose Salon in University Park, Florida.
The team from Cutting Loose Salon in University Park, Florida.

Cutting Loose Salon
University Park, FL
cuttingloose.net
Coral Pleas
SQUARE FEET: 6,500; 2,600
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 66
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $50
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Paul Mitchell, Oribe, Pai Shau
COLOR: Paul Mitchell, Pump Riot
TECH SUPPORT: Millenium, Demandforce, Textel, ZeeZor
ASSOCIATIONS: Intercoiffure, PBA, 2 to 10
“Our dedicated inventory specialist analyzes the sales history of each product by month. So we know if an item sells rapidly in summer months but slower in other months. Using this model we keep back bar at or under 6% of our gross revenue and our retail sales generate approximately 15% of our gross revenue.”

Fringe
Maplewood, NJ
thefringesalon.com
Kim Hammer
SQUARE FEET: 1,100
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 12
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $58
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Aveda
COLOR: Aveda
SKINCARE: Aveda
TECH SUPPORT: SalonBiz, Demandforce
ASSOCIATIONS: PBA
“We do daily adjustments to our hair color inventory. Whenever a stylist opens a new box of color, she will rip off the barcode and deposit it in a container in the color room. Our front desk staff will then ‘shrink out’ the collected barcodes in our software. This ensures that our color count remains accurate.”

Glow Beauty Boutique
Braintree, MA
glowbeautyb.com
Shelley North
SQUARE FEET: 1,900
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 16
SKINCARE: Control Corrective, Glow Skin Care
TECH SUPPORT: Salon Iris, Salon Clouds, Constant Contact
ASSOCIATIONS: PBA
“Our salon manager oversees our inventory management program and developed a weekly system for counting every product, running a report of what sold, and entering and matching numbers to track loss prevention. With this system, we are able to accurately project sales and have saved 15% in product costs annually.”

Ihloff Salon and Day Spa
Tulsa, OK
ihloffspa.com
Marilyn Ihloff
SQUARE FEET: 6,000; 4,000; 1,500
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 125
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $50
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Aveda
COLOR: Aveda
SKINCARE: Aveda
NAILCARE: Spa Ritual, CND
TECH SUPPORT: SalonBiz, Demandforce
ASSOCIATIONS: Intercoiffure, PBA, 2 to 10
“We use an eight-season calendar to create beautiful and consistently changing displays. At each season change we update our merchandising, cash wrap, infused water and focus product samples.”

Josephines Day Spa and Salon
Houston, TX
josephinesdayspa.com
Vivian Yeh
SQUARE FEET: 5,600; 3,000; 1,000
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 49
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $60
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Aveda
COLOR: Aveda, Pulp Riot, Pravana
SKINCARE: Aveda
TECH SUPPORT: SalonBiz, Demandforce, ZeeZor, Textel, Bamboo, Green Circle
ASSOCIATIONS: Intercoiffure
“One way we encourage sales of sluggish products is by putting it out for millions to see. Using social media to our advantage, we post these product images on our Instagram and we bring the products out to our experience table where we can demo the product with a guest and let them experience it on a personal level.”

N Style Salon
Santa Clarita, CA
nstylesalon.com
Clay and Tiffany Friedman
SQUARE FEET: 2,000
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 21
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $55
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: L’Oreal Professionnel, Kenra, Ergo
COLOR: L’Oreal Professionnel
SKINCARE: Sun Bum
TECH SUPPORT: STX, Heartland Analytics
ASSOCIATIONS: Intercoiffure, PBA
“We recently incorporated a men’s line into our inventory. Before making the decision, we all tried samples of the product, our stylists had their husbands try the product and we gave some samples to various clients and their husbands. We value our clients’ opinions, so we trust their judgment when incorporating a new product.”

Tangerine Salon and Spa
Murfreesboro, TN
tangerinesalonandspa.com
James, Donna and Mark McCarrall
SQUARE FEET: 4,200
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 35
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $50
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Aveda
COLOR: Aveda
SKINCARE: Aveda
NAILCARE: OPI, CND
TECH SUPPORT: SalonBiz, Demandforce, SureTint
ASSOCIATIONS: PBA
“We maintain an on-hand minimum supply of two weeks’ worth of product based on current usage. Inventory is ordered weekly from a purchasing order created through our software based on actual sales from the prior week. Top selling products are always over ordered to ensure we have enough product to meet demand.”

Additional Honorees
Avenue Hair Design, Venice, FL
Anasa Hair Studio, Temecula, CA
Bella Style Salon, Slidell, LA
Belladona Salon & Spa, Cape Girardeau, MO
Blo, Raleigh, NC
Cutting Loose Salon, University Park, FL
The Day Spa @ Folawns, San Antonio, TX
Five Senses Spa Salon & Barbershop, Peoria, IL
Gordon Salon, Highland Park, IL
Hair Benders Salon, Kingsport, TN
Hollywood Hair Salon and Spa, Centralia, IL
Integrity Lash, Pasadena, CA
Joli Salon & Day Spa, Lexington, KY
Karen Allen Salon and Spa, Riverside, CA
Maggie The Salon, Pembroke Pines, FL
Mane Attraction Salon, Phoenix, AZ
Mark Pardo SalonSpa, Albuquerque, NM
Mod Hair Color Salon & Beauty Store, Cedar Falls, IA
NUOVO Salon Group, Sarasota, FL
Paul Kenneth Salon & Spa, Woburn, MA
Pure Salon Spa, Louisville, KY
Salon Soca, Chicago, IL
S’kape Salon & Spa, Leonardtown, MD
Solaris Aveda, Evansville, IN
Voga Salon, Overland Park, KS
Urban Betty, Austin, TX

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