Former NBA All-Star Wants to Score With a New Business Venture: Beauty Salons
Retired NBA all-star Chauncey Billups has a clean-shaven head, so he might not seem a natural to be a franchisee for a chain hair and beauty salons.
But Billups and his wife Piper now have a multi-unit deal with Salon Plaza, one of several brands under Vienna, Virginia-based Ratner Cos. Ratner also has Hair Cuttery, Bubbles, Salon Cielo and hair products brand Cibu.
The first one has opened in a power retail center in Southfield, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. Billups is well-known in the Motor City after six seasons with Detroit Pistons, particularly after helping lead the team to a 2004 championship win over the Los Angeles Lakers. His Pistons jersey No. 1 was later retired.
Salon Plaza was founded in 2010 and began franchising in 2012. It has 30 locations open or under development now. Most of the existing locations are in Maryland and Virginia.
In a statement, Ken McAllister, chief executive officer of Suite Management Franchising, which handles the franchise development for Salon Plaza along with My Salon Suite, said the company is focused on expanding though with “well-capitalized teams that that have strong operating credentials, and the Billups’ partnership is an awesome way to kick-start our momentum nationwide.”
Salon suites have been a growing sector in the health-and-beauty business, supplanting the traditional, commission-based model, according to a recent study from the business consultancy Professional Consultants & Resources. Cyrus Bulsara has dubbed the sector’s rise as a “salon suites tsunami” that has stunted growth in salon retail.
According to the study, revenues for salon services grew 1.8% to $64.3 billion last year.
The suite salon business model resembles the shared-office model. Independent cosmetologists lease space for their services and are dubbed “members” similar to those who take coworking office space.
According to the company, finding a location isn’t so reliant on visible locations in major retail centers. The company’s site selection advice notes that these suites are destination locations where the customer follows members to a new place regardless of location.
The business can be on a second floor of a building or a back corner of a retail center. “We are able to use space that the landlord will often have a hard time leasing,” according to the company.
These suites are not just for hairstylists but nail technicians, locticians (those specializing in hair extensions) and estheticians (facials and body treatments.) They also get local and national marketing as well as help with business development to ensure the businesses are profitable and survive.
“We rise by lifting others up, and that’s exactly what we’re doing with Salon Plaza,” Billups, who also owns 30 Wendy’s franchises in the St. Louis area, said in a statement.
