Great Clips Records 20 Straight Quarters of Same-Store Sales Growth

Great Clips Inc., North America’s largest single-brand hair salon franchisor, recorded its 20th consecutive quarter of same-store sales growth in October, according to Rob Goggins, vice president of Franchise development.

“This is a remarkable and validating accomplishment for our franchise owners over any period of time, but particularly these last several quarters with the economy in such turmoil,” said Goggins. “When we promote our franchise brand as recession-resistant, we can back it up.”

"This is an impressive statement about the performance of the Great Clips brand," added Darrell Johnson, president & chief executive officer of FRANdata. "Especially considering the challenging economic environment of the last few years, it's rare to see such a consistent increase in store sales."

Becoming a successful Great Clips salon owner isn’t about being an expert in hair; it’s about being a strong leader.

“Our typical franchisee invests in Great Clips in order to transition out of corporate America. The business model allows individuals to keep their day jobs while building their salon businesses on the side,” said Goggins. “Successful franchisees usually come from the middle- and upper-level executive ranks of industry. They possess strong management, leadership, communications and people skills. And, they don’t cut hair. They are CEOs of their Great Clips, managing people and expanding their businesses.”

Metropolitan Detroit franchisee Raine Campeau has seen firsthand the success of the Great Clips system.

“Our Great Clips franchise organization, Sanra, Inc., is up 10 percent in dollars this time over last year, and customer count growth is up 7.4 percent this year,” Campeau remarked. “Our organization is making so much money we bought property on a lake in the Hilton Head, S.C., area and plan to build a winter home there in a few years.” 

Great Clips leads the hair salon business with nearly 2,800 franchised units throughout North America, and is ranked 90th in system-wide sales by Franchise Times magazine in its annual Top 200 listing of worldwide franchise chains.

"We have experienced significant growth in all our markets, even during this recession,” said Kyle Eckmann, multi-salon owner in Montana. “Customer counts are up about 10 percent this year, and we are looking for additional opportunities to expand and gain market share. Great Clips provides franchisees with a fantastic business model that thrives in both good and bad economic times."

Great Clips’ success, in turn, has benefitted companies with whom it works closely, such as IRH Capital.

"The success of IRH Capital, to a great extent, depends upon partnering with quality franchisors such as Great Clips,” says Keith Rabin, managing member, IRH Capital.  “Great Clips has continued to prove its strength and commitment even during this challenging environment and we are not surprised by its continued success."

About Great Clips:
Great Clips is North America’s largest hair-care brand with nearly 2,800 salons conveniently located in high-visibility strip malls in nearly 140 markets. Great Clips consistently ranks among Entrepreneur magazine’s Franchise 500Ò. Entrepreneur also ranks Great Clips as one of their “Fastest Growing” and one of “America’s Top Global Franchises” for 2009.