Run low on product and you miss valuable sales. Carry more than you need and you tie up cash that could be used in other areas of the salon. The smartest salons know how to walk this tightrope while building retail sales that pump up profitability.

CENTRE SALON, FASHION PLACE
Murray, UT
centresalon.com
James F. Pacifico
SQUARE FEET: 1,400
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 12
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $32
RETAIL INVESTMENT: $70,000
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Aveda
COLOR: Aveda
TECH SUPPORT: SalonBiz, Demandforce, ZeeZor
“We auto create our weekly orders, which generates a purchase order and allows us to efficiently and accurately receive the order in our salon software system when received.”

FRINGE
Maplewood, NJ
thefringesalon.com
Kim Hammer
SQUARE FEET: 1,100
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 13
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $55
RETAIL INVESTMENT: $16,000
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Aveda
COLOR: Aveda
SKIN CARE: Aveda
TECH SUPPORT: SalonBiz, Demandforce
ASSOCIATION: PBA
“We use SalonBiz to create adjustments or ‘shrink out’ color and professional products whenever they are used. This method has proven to be the most accurate way to get a precise count of our stock.”

HABITUDE SALONS AND SPA
Seattle, WA
habitude.com
Inez Gray
SQUARE FEET: 8,000; 1,500
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 85
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $55
RETAIL INVESTMENT: $75,000
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Aveda, Bumble and Bumble
COLOR: Aveda
SKIN CARE: Aveda
NAIL CARE: Essie, Spa Ritual
TECH SUPPORT: SalonBiz, Demandforce, Loc Box, Indeed
ASSOCIATION: PBA
“Sluggish products are often easily kick started by moving them to our prime sales locations in front of the desk. Good signage and a value-added deal usually do the trick. A simple free pump tied to a liter can make the difference.”

N STYLE SALON
Saugus, CA
nstylesalon.com
Clay and Tiffany Friedman
SQUARE FEET: 2,000
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 20
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $50
RETAIL INVESTMENT: $8,000
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Kenra, L’Oréal Professionnel, Ergo Brushes
COLOR: L’Oréal Professionnel
SKIN CARE: Archipliago
TECH SUPPORT: STX
ASSOCIATIONS: Intercoiffure, PBA, Strictly Business
“We constantly rotate our products around the salon so it looks fresh when clients come back in a couple weeks for their next service. By keeping displays fresh, we also have more opportunities to educate our clients on how to use each product.”

NUOVO SALON GROUP
Sarasota, FL
nuovosalongroup.com
Terry McKee and James Amato
SQUARE FEET: 3,300; 3,000; 2,700
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 72
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $57
RETAIL INVESTMENT: $30,000
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Aveda
COLOR: Aveda
TECH SUPPORT: SalonBiz, MIA, Demandforce, ZeeZor, SnapSnip
ASSOCIATIONS: Intercoiffure, PBA, 2 to 10 Network
“MIA from SureTint not only calibrates proportions for color formulation, but every molecule of product is accounted for. Then, MIA generates a report for purchase order, assisting with inventory management. The days of running out are in the past.”

RUE 48 SALON
Minneapolis, MN
rue48.com
Susan Maki
SQUARE FEET: 1,400
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 14
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $45
RETAIL INVESTMENT: $29,000
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Aveda
COLOR: Aveda
TECH SUPPORT: Millennium, ZeeZor
ASSOCIATIONS: ISBN, NCA
“We place an order every two weeks and monitor our extra products. The products and extra color will vary during different times of year and services projected at that time.”

SAGITTARIUS SALON & SPA
Hagerstown, MD
sagittariussalon.com
Marsha and Jordon Knicley
SQUARE FEET: 5,500
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 32
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $50
RETAIL INVESTMENT: $115,000
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Oribe, Aveda, Bumble and Bumble
COLOR: Wella, Redken, Pulp Riot, Aveda
TECH SUPPORT: Millennium, Demandforce, Spa Boom, Mail Chimp
ASSOCIATIONS: The Day Spa Assoc., Intercoiffure, NCA, PBA
“We run professional product usage and retail usage reports for a 12-week period, which gives us our weekly order point total that we should be carrying. For high-volume products, we keep a one-month supply and for average products we keep a two-week supply.”

SCHARDEIN’S
Oklahoma City, OK
schardeins.com
Steven Schardein
SQUARE FEET: 6,000
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 32
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $45
RETAIL INVESTMENT: $100,000
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Oribe
COLOR: Goldwell
TECH SUPPORT: STX
ASSOCIATIONS: Intercoiffure, PBA
“Our inventory manager has coordinated the ordering of all lines to specific times of the month, day of the week, and frequency. Gone are the days where we would have to order haphazardly once we were out of something. The extra shipping and expedited costs we are now saving goes straight to our profit margin.”

SKY SALON
Strongsville, OH
skysalon.com
Damon Jaskolka
SQUARE FEET: 2,100
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 15
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $50
RETAIL INVESTMENT: $15,000
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Kevin Murphy, Aquage
COLOR: Matrix, Joico, Kevin Murphy
TECH SUPPORT: SalonBiz, Demandforce, Spaboom
ASSOCIATION: PBA
“We regularly hold retail and product knowledge classes and highlight products during styling and cutting classes as well. We bring in educators across the country to our salon to help inspire and elevate our knowledge and practice.”

ZANYA SPA SALON
Lambertville, NJ
zanyaspasalon.com
Zanya Gissler and
Filomena Cook
SQUARE FEET: 9,800
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 57
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $75
RETAIL INVESTMENT: $46,000
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Oribe, V76, Intelligent Nutrients
COLOR: L’Oréal Professionnel
SKIN CARE: Skinceuticals, Skinmedica, Decleor
NAIL CARE: OPI, Essie, Smith & Cult
TECH SUPPORT: Millennium, Web Openings
ASSOCIATION: PBA
“We have worked very hard to achieve and maintain a back stock of color, so if we ever run into a situation where we can’t get what we need from a supplier, we can pull it from our cache.”

Additional Honorees
Avalon Salon and Day Spa, Deer Park, IL
Aveda Institute Phoenix, Tempe, AZ
Belladona Salon & Spa, Cape Girardeau, MO
Bii Hair Salon, West Dundee, IL
Blo, Raleigh, Raleigh, NC
Brown & DeLine, Ann Arbor, MI
Canvas Salon and Skin Bar, Powell, OH
Five Senses Spa and Salon, Peoria, IL
The Hair Company, Leonardtown, MD
Hollywood Hair Salon and Spa, Centralia, IL
Joli Salon and Spa, Lexington, KY
Josephine’s Day Spa & Salon, Houston, TX
Maggie The Salon, Pembroke Pines, FL
Mane Attraction Salon, Phoenix, AZ
Neroli Salon & Spa, Milwaukee, WI
Nurtur the Salon, Columbus, OH
Omagi Salon Spa, Louisville, KY
Paris Parker Salons & Spas, Hammond, LA
Rock Paper Scissors Salonspa, Santa Fe, NM
Salon Allure, Huntsville, AL
Samuel Cole Salon, Raleigh, NC
Tangerine Salon and Spa, Murfreesboro, TN
Urban Betty, Austin, TX
Vanity Salon, Houston, TX
Voga Salon, Overland Park, KS
Xanadu Hair Salon, Chesapeake, VA