Trying To Franchise Tanning Salons

Msnbc:

Harvin Greene still loves looking tan, but with a 3-year-old daughter, she doesn’t have much time anymore for sitting in the sun or keeping frequent appointments to use a tanning bed.

So every once in a while, the 31-year-old Atlanta homemaker dashes into a local salon and gets a spray-on tan that lasts about a week.

“It’s big, I don’t have to wait, and I get an immediate tan,� Greene said. “Everybody asks, ‘Did you just get back from vacation?�’Greene’s Atlanta salon represents a new trend in indoor tanning. It is huge, brightly lit inside, and is owned by one of several companies that are trying to create major national chains in an industry that doesn’t have any.

Americans spend an estimated $5 billion a year on getting and staying tan, but the five biggest chains account for a minuscule 5 percent of the market, according to industry experts. There are an estimated 25,000 tanning establishments in the United States, but that includes health clubs and nail salons with a tanning bed or two in the back.

Unhappy customers say those outfits lock customers into costly long-term contracts, offer outdated equipment, minimal service and not enough beds to meet demand during the peak season, which runs from now into June.

Many of these new tanning tycoons come from the movie-rental business. They see similarities between their industry and video stores before Blockbuster Inc., which offered better selections at reasonable prices.

“The tanning business is dominated by independents, and many of them are single-store owners. They’re not in good locations. They still use handmade signs in the windows,â€? says Steven Berkman, a former Blockbuster executive who is now vice president of franchisi’g for Palm Beach Tan Inc. “There’s an opportunity here for a great retail brand, just like the video industry in the ’80s.â€?