At this barbershop, there’s no pole, an app has replaced the appointment book and the haircutters consult the cloud for your styling preferences.
Welcome to Great Clips, the nation’s biggest haircutting chain. The Minneapolis-based franchiser may not be a household name in the New Haven region now, but that’s changing fast.
The company already has salons in New Haven, Cheshire, Southington, Milford and Shelton. It added Derby last month and plans further expansion in the near future, said Jon Steward, senior director of operations.
The surge is part of Great Clips’ push into the Northeast, one of the few areas of the country where the chain, which has almost 4,300 salons and employs about 45,000 people, does not have a major presence, Steward said.
“When you look at the Northeast, that’s where growth will be for the next five to 10 years,” Steward said.
Great Clips has experienced strong growth for the last decade, opening 50 to 100 locations a year, while reporting steady year-to-year sales increases at its existing salons. Steward said. He attributes much of the chain’s success to its embrace of technology.
At Great Clips, appointments and waiting are out. Customers wanting a haircut go to the company website or use its app to check wait times and then “get in line” electronically, Steward said. Since there are often multiple Great Clips salons nearby, customers can choose the one with the shortest wait or most convenient time, he said. That allows people to walk in and sit in the chair almost immediately, he said.
Another innovation is the company’s database of customer haircut preferences, which it calls “Clip Notes.” Salon haircutters enter preferred styles into a cloud-based database accessible at every Great Clips location nationwide, Steward said. No matter where the customer is, his or her hairstyle is available to the stylist with the click of a mouse.
“The keys that Great Clips has built upon are convenience and connection with our customers,” Steward said. “Customers that we attract want a good haircut at a good price and don’t want to spend a lot of time getting it.”
Another important part of Great Clips’ business model is simplicity. The salons mostly confine themselves to haircuts, eschewing color and other more involved services, Steward said. As a result of that and other factors, about 75 percent of the chain’s customers are men, he said. Its hours are also a draw. Great Clips is open seven days a week, including 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays. Its prices vary by location, but are typically in the $15 range, he said.
The simplicity of the business model and its use of technology were factors that attracted investor Stephanie Gasser and her husband Brian to Great Clips. The couple was looking for a way to supplement their income and became the first Connecticut Great Clips franchisees in 2010, opening a salon in Bethel. Two more followed, Stratford later that year and Milford in 2015.
All three have been successes, said Gasser, who now works full time managing the businesses. She is especially proud of providing employment to 20 to 30 people and of the chain’s charity work, including free haircuts for people undergoing chemotherapy and veterans on Veterans Day.
“I love that we are giving people something they need,” said the 47-year-old Gasser, who lives in Stamford. “We’re doing it in a friendly salon in their hometown at a price they love.”
The Gassers had no experience in the salon or haircutting business before they signed up with Great Clips, which is typical of the company’s franchisees, 90 percent of whom are entering the field for the first time, Steward said. The firm’s more than 1,000 franchisees come from all walks of life and professions, he said.
“They are looking for a business that is successful and recession-proof and not too complicated,” Steward said. “We don’t need them to be a cosmetologist to do that.”
While franchisees can have just one salon, those wishing to make the business their full-time livelihood generally need five outlets to do so, Steward said. He declined to give specifics on the company’s franchise agreements or buy in fee. Entrepreneur Magazine earlier this year rated the chain the 7th best of 500 franchise chains it reviewed.
Begun in 1982, Great Clips is still privately held by the family of one of its founders, Ray Barton. Like many of the chain’s franchisees, Barton was an entrepreneur with no experience in the salon business, Steward said. He said the firm has no plans to go public.
Gasser dismissed any concerns that Great Clips might threaten traditional barbershops and hair salons. Those businesses will continue to attract customers looking for more services and a different experience, she said.
“I think we cater to a different type of customer,” she said.
Christopher Hoffman can be reached at news@newhavenbiz.com
