Inventory Contol is a balancing act. Run too low on product and you miss valuable sales, carry too much and you’re tying up money that could better be used elsewhere. The strongest salons master take tight control, while always creatively seeking new avenues for retail sales.

A NEW BEGINNING, INC.
Bethel, CT
anbsalonspa.com
Carol St. Amand Romer
SQUARE FEET: 6,000
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 37
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $60
RETAIL INVESTMENT: $22,000
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Aveda
COLOR: Aveda
TECH SUPPORT: Millennium, Demandforce, Spaboom
ASSOCIATIONS: PBA, Chamber of Commerce
“We keep a pre-order list for guests and order these items when we place a new order. This way we don’t run out of the best-selling products.”

ATELIER STUDIO
San Jose, CA
ateliersalon.com
Karie Bennett
SQUARE FEET: 1,600; 1,500    
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 50
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $75
RETAIL INVESTMENT: $150,000
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Aveda
COLOR: Aveda
TECH SUPPORT: SalonBiz, Demandforce
“Our system starts by having a specific place for used profession items to go. We call this our Adjustment Bin, and everything placed in this bin is scanned out through the software. Broken equipment like blowdryers, brushes and hair tools also go in the bin, triggering us to order new appliances so we don’t run low on vital equipment.”

AURA SALON & DAY SPA
Scottsdale, AZ
aura-salon.com
Sarah Wisda, Christy Vowers and Michael Ament
SQUARE FEET: 2,100
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 36
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $78
RETAIL INVESTMENT: $100,000
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Kerastase, Bumble and Bumble, DevaCurl
COLOR: Goldwell
TECH SUPPORT: Millennium, Demandforce
ASSOCIATIONS: The Day Spa Association, PBA
“Every week we have an employee who comes in after hours and counts one haircare line, one spa line, retail and backbar. During the count, she removes every product off the shelf and cleans the shelves as well as the backbar area.”

AVALON SALON AND DAY SPA
Deer Park, IL
avalondeerpark.com
Bonnie and August Conte, Shyla and Rick Kurnick
SQUARE FEET: 5,200
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 50
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $65
RETAIL INVESTMENT: $45,000
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Aveda
COLOR: Aveda
TECH SUPPORT: Millennium, Demandforce, Spa Boom
ASSOCIATIONS: CC, PBA,
The Day Spa Association
“Existing stock is rotated to the front of the shelves and the new shipment is placed behind. Each week, we spot-check a particular domain (hair/skin/aromas) to make sure the on-hand count matches what is on the shelf.”

CENTRE SALON, FASHION PLACE
Murray, UT
centresalon.com
James F. Pacifico
SQUARE FEET: 1,400  
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 12
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $32
RETAIL INVESTMENT: $65,000
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Aveda
COLOR: Aveda
TECH SUPPORT: SalonBiz, Demandforce
“We meet with our manufacturer’s salon development partner three times a month. The meetings range from product knowledge classes, updating shelves for changing schematics, coaching employees on successful retailing and event planning.”

CHARISMA INNER BEAUTY — OUTWARD
Wichita, KS
charismainnerbeauty.com
Robin Wolfe
SQUARE FEET: 5,000; 2,500
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 33
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $47
RETAIL INVESTMENT: $28,000
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Aveda
COLOR: Aveda
TECH SUPPORT: Mikal, Constant Contact  
“We selected the member of our team who is the most enthusiastic about product and has excellent retail sales to be part of our Aveda mentor program. She attends meetings with our DSL to learn about new products and how ingredients are sources. She shares what she’s learned with the staff and leads product launches.”   

EVOLVE SALON AND SPA
Center Valley, PA
evolvesalonspa.com
Alan Robell and John Riniker
SQUARE FEET: 3,700     
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 34
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $55
RETAIL INVESTMENT: $35,000
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Aveda
COLOR: Aveda
TECH SUPPORT: SalonBiz, Demandforce
ASSOCIATION: PBA
“Peter Millard, author of Reinventing Space for Salons and Spas, taught us that lining up more products across, versus just deep, gives the illusion of abundance. It’s a bigger investment, but it helps sell more.”

SCOTT J. AVEDA SALON
New York, NY
scottj.com
Scott Buchannan
SQUARE FEET: 2,800     
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 220
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $75
RETAIL INVESTMENT: $50,000
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Aveda
COLOR: Aveda
TECH SUPPORT: SalonBiz, Demandforce
ASSOCIATIONS: Intercoiffure, PBA
“Our product organization system within our software is laid out with the counter in mind. It’s all entered by where it lives on the shelf in the salon. You don’t have to know the category, just where it sits on the shelf. So anyone can count product.”

SIN 7 SALON
White Rock, BC
sin7salon.com
Courtney Clark and Katherine Ross
SQUARE FEET: 1,200     
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 13
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $48
RETAIL INVESTMENT: $40,000
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Aveda
COLOR: Aveda
TECH SUPPORT: Milano, Hootsuite, Survey Monkey, Mailchimp
“Products that aren’t hot sellers still need to move, so we encourage guests to sample products before buying if it’s something new to them. We’ve also enjoyed good success rates with in-salon Try Me feature displays.”

STUDIO 700
SALON & SPA
Corona, CA
studio700corona.com
Tamra Segert
SQUARE FEET: 1,800
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 12
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $55
RETAIL INVESTMENT: $8,000
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Eufora
COLOR: Eufora
TECH SUPPORT: Insight, Constant Contact
ASSOCIATION: PBA
“It’s really important to change merchandising displays once a month. We have clients booking every four-six weeks, and I want them to see and experience new visuals each time they visit our salon.”

Additional Honorees
Bii Hair Salon, West Dundee, IL
Blo, Raleigh, NC
Canvas Salon and Skin Bar, Powell, OH
Ginger Bay Salon & Spa, St. Louis, MO
Habitude Salons and Spa, Seattle, WA
Interlocks Salon + Spa, Newburyport, MA
Jon Alan Salon, Nashville, TN
Josephine’s Day Spa & Salon, Houston, TX
Michael Helene Salon Gallery, Dulles, VA
Maggie the Salon, Pembroke Pines, FL
Maxime Salon, Hingham, MA
Neroli Salon & Spa, Milwaukee, WI
Nuovo Salon Group, Sarasota, FL
Nurture the Salon, Columbus, OH
Roots Salon, Greendale, WI
Salon Soca, Chicago, IL
Schardein’s, Oklahoma City, OK
Serenity Couture Salon Spa, West Des Moines, IA
Solaris, Evansville, IN
Spa Bleu, West Dundee & South Barrington, IL
Spa Mizan, Lafayette, LA
Voga Salon, Inc., Overland Park, KS
Zanya Spa Salon, Lambertville, NJ