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SEARCHAs the salon suite rental operations are popping up in towns across the country, independent salon owners are shocked when a percentage of their staff migrates to what they perceive is a more lucrative lifestyle. SALON TODAY checked in with Cyrus Bulsara, president of Professional Consultants and Resources, a leading salon industry strategic consultants and data source, to find out more about this trend.
Cyrus Bulsara
As the salon suite rental operations are popping up in towns across the country, independent salon owners are shocked when a percentage of their staff migrates to what they perceive is a more lucrative lifestyle. SALON TODAY checked in with Cyrus Bulsara, president of Professional Consultants and Resources, a leading salon industry strategic consultants and data source, to find out more about this trend. “Chair/suite rentals now constitute around 35% to 37% of all U.S. salons,” says Bulsara. “They are offering a pleasant, individualized ambiance at competitive prices, plus personalized, one-on-one services that draw and retain clients.”
Some facts:
• Chair/suite rentals are defi ned as places where individual stylists rent chairs/suite space from another individual, partners or a company at a fixed cost for use of space, utilities and services within a salon of any size. Joint profit-sharing models also exist.
• In 2012, the total number of licensed salon in the U.S. with hair care as a primary focus was estimated at approximately 175,000. The number of salons is 3% higher than reported in 2011, which is good news for the salon industry. Growth had temporarily slowed down, due to tight credit during the 2008-2009 recessions, but has improved strongly, adding completely new genres like Blow-bars and Dry-bars, as the economy improves.
• Chair/suite rentals are a burgeoning trend in the western half of the U.S. Nearly 47,000 to 52,000 salons and/or single operators are part of this huge growth phenomenon. Chair/suite rentals salons are omnipresent in the Midwest, West, Northwest, South, Southwest, and Southeast.
• It is estimated that now nearly 37% of all salons in the U.S. are operating some form of chair/suite rentals. They are the fastest-growing salon type in the U.S. These are either under single/joint ownership, entrepreneurial and various profi t-sharing models. These new location are luxurious with 20-40 operators that offer clients a “one-stop-shop”’ mix of hair, skin, nail, body and cosmetic services.
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