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.
Issue link: https://smarttan.epubxp.com/i/144509
inspired ideas Rick Kueber, CEO When Rick Kueber and his brother originally got into business, tanning took a backseat to video rentals. But after seeing an opportunity in their market, the duo enjoyed indoor tanning revenues great enough to convince them that opening a salon was a smart choice. Considering that Sun Tan City has launched over 230 salons and has become one of the largest indoor tanning salon franchises in the country since opening their doors in 1999, it seems they made a good choice. These days, Kueber is still focused on the business, but he's also investing in the future of the industry as one of the founding members of the American Suntanning Association. Q: What are some of the most common questions from potential franchisees? Q: How is diversifcation affecting the business model? A: Really, the biggest question is "How much is it?" They view franchising as a cost instead of an investment. A lot of people think it will cost a lot, but if you're a nice size salon with good equipment, the average conversion cost is only a few thousand dollars, and we have credits that can offset those costs. A: People are also fearful about buying from approved vendors and wonder if they are going to save money. We have vendor contracts in place and we don't mark anything up. We can almost guarantee that they will save a substantial sum of money because we negotiate with vendors on nearly everything from plastic bags to equipment. There isn't one thing inside these stores that we didn't negotiate. We are always looking for the next revenue opportunity with different pieces of equipment. One of the keys to long-term success is diversifcation. Be true to your core business – tanning is why people come to Sun Tan City – but when it makes sense, we will diversify, test it, and see if we recommend it to partners. Sunless is a huge part of our business. We have stores with anywhere from one to four sunless machines, and it continues to grow. It's one of the biggest growth opportunities for conversion salons because we can teach them how to be successful at it. Q: How has Sun Tan City changed over the years? Q: How does Sun Tan City support the industry? A: A: Other than the growth, I think we do a good job of listening to our franchisees. They take comfort that we have 90 corporate salons – we have a lot of skin in the game. A bad decision is much more impactful on my 90 stores than their fve. We have had to become a lot more intelligent in the decisions that we make. The trick is referencing data and turning it into information, then using it. We have always been very informationcentered. We also have a lot of redundancy in our departments – it's not a one-person team. We don't rely on any one individual; we bring comfort to our franchisees because if one person is gone, we can still function at the highest level possible. We also have a 90-seat call center. If you call Sun Tan City, it goes right to a call center so salons don't have to be bothered with the call. There's nothing worse than being in peak season and the phone rings while there is a line out the door. 73 SMART TAN MAGAZINE ❘ SmartTan.com I was one of the founding members of the American Suntanning Association and was a board member for the Indoor Tanning Association. I spent countless hours and days in the last 12 months in ASA meetings and that is one of the biggest contributions that Sun Tan City or I have made. It took me away from my business and we have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars into the ASA. I think that salon owners had to have a stronger voice within the industry, and as part of a mixed organization they did not have that voice. With the formation of the ASA, we have been able to accomplish more in the last 10 months than we did as salon owners over the last fve years. Sometimes you have to stir things to affect change, and that's what we have done. We are on a much clearer path than we were 12 months ago.