Smart Tan Magazine

VOL28ISS7 2013

smart Tan Magazine is the leading source of information for indoor tanning salons, covering everything from the newest tanning technology, Vitamin D and the lastes tanning lotions to detailed ways to improve your salon's success.

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inspired ideas Leif Vasstrom Founder, Supra Brands Group Since he entered the tanning industry with his New York salon in 1978, Leif Vasstrom has been committed to the success of the business community. Now as the founder of Supra Brands Group, he continues his passion for excellence through tanning lamps and the TanToday forum. Q: What are some common concerns salon owners have with tanning lamps? A: Some salon owners don't know which lamp should be in their tanning bed. A lot of salon owners today have bought their salon from someone else, so it has equipment in it that they may not have purchased themselves. To resolve this, we have created a resource. When you view quartz lamp specifcations on www.supratechnologies.com, there is a picture of the lamp and a summary of tanning beds that lamp should go into. It takes the guesswork away from the salon owner so they can feel confdent in their order. Q: How do the international markets compare to the trends we see in the U.S.? A: Supra distributes to Scandinavia, the United Kingdom, Russia, North and South America, New Zealand, Japan and China. And there are some similar controversies across the world. In Russia, it's growing quite rapidly since they have embraced a free market – they love anything Western. The U.K. is similar to the U.S. and Canada as far as the positive and negative publicity. In Scandinavia, people don't really tan in the summer; they tan more in the winter. But because of their standards of beauty and how they value pale skin, China has very little tanning going on. However it is more popular in places like Hong Kong and Shang Hai. Q: How is Supra involved with efforts to improve the image of the indoor tanning industry? A: We support every single organization that is educating salon owners or helping our industry. I also own the www.tantoday.com website, where we promote vitamin D and 71 SMART TAN MAGAZINE ❘ SmartTan.com UV science. The website is a place for salon owners to chat and discuss ideas, but we hope that people will start to read the UV science forum. We have 11 moderators that take care of TanToday on a daily basis and keep it as an exclusive family for salon owners, manager and distributors. Q: How is the Supra brand growing? A: A few years ago, we launched our fluorescent lamp brand. It has become equally popular with our customers because it's a good product. We have 29 types of quartz lamps and 10 types of fuorescent lamps, which we have started to promote more vigorously in the last two years since they have gained a lot of popularity. Q: What do trade shows do for your brand? A: Just like salon owners, we have to keep our brand in the forefront – that's a given. We have been at Nashville for so many years and I have become so involved in the industry that there is an expectation. We meet with our suppliers and salon owners, and that's just a smart business decision. If you're not on the trade show foor people wonder where you went, and that's not good for business. But it's good to go to trade shows to fulfll your curiosity and learn from established people in the industry. Our distributors often bring their customers by the booth so we can talk to them since we don't sell directly to salons. This year will be our ninth year in Nashville!

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