2015 and the Coming Salon Booth Renter Boom

Last month’s eye opening study relative to the significant and growing segment of booth rental salons as part of the overall beauty industry further points to the fact that not only do salon owners need to anticipate and meet the needs of independent professionals within booth rental salons, but manufacturers, distributors, cosmetology schools and industry consultants who expect to remain relevant in the coming decade must do so, as well.

35% of salons in the US currently operate with some form of booth renter model, and according to the 2011 industry study performed by beauty industry experts Professional Consultants & Resources, the percentage of salons which include booth renters will grow to represent 50% of the overall salon market.  Half of the industry is predicted to be made up of booth renters by 2015, but the bulk of resources being provided by salon professional product distributors and manufacturers in terms of education, business and marketing support is still overwhelmingly geared toward salon owners (vs. independent booth renters, who are, in essence, independent salon owners themselves). This represents unique and distinct opportunities for all parties.

Why should manufacturers and distributors (as well as beauty schools, consultants and other salon industry educators) commit more resources, research, business and marketing tools and support to the salon booth renter?

For the simple reason that booth renters, statistically projected to represent about half of the direct links between manufacturers and consumers by 2015 (i.e., the people who buy professional salon products), are the very individuals who will be choosing the professional salon cleansers and conditioners to use at the back bar, the professional styling products they will use behind the chair, and even more importantly, booth renters and stylists will be the individuals directly educating consumers and influencing their preferences when it comes to professional salon products.

And this is true whether those products will be purchased in the salon or spa or at a mass retail outlet as a result of diversion. 

To continue to provide resources, business solutions, marketing collateral and other support to the salon industry geared mainly toward the salon owner or manager is to ignore half of the industry; and the challenges faced by booth renters are distinctly different than those of stylists in salaried salons or by the owners of multi-chair salons whose stylists are compensated by salary, commissions or both.

The next several articles posted on this blog will further explore the unique needs of booth rental salons and the booth renters within it, and it was also the direct inspiration for the 2012 Marketing Guide for Stylists, Booth Renters and Independent Salon Owners, which is a recommended business building resource for hair stylists and hairdressers (whether they are booth renters or working in a salary based salon) as well as other independent beauty professionals, such as make up and skin care estheticians, massage therapists, nail technicians, etc.

In the first article on the topic, I pointed out that when it comes to marketing for booth renters and booth rental salons, one size does not fit all, and provided specific advice not only to booth renters and booth rental salon owners, but also to salon professional product manufacturers, salon product distributors and others within the industry relative to the initial findings provided in the booth rental salon market study referenced earlier.

The next article in this series on salon changes in the professional beauty industry will explore the unique nature of competition for booth renters, where competition in a booth rental salon might be right in the chair next to them, rather than that of the nearest competing salon or spa.

Related articles

• Whose Job is the Marketing? (thesavvystylist.wordpress.com)
• Industry study finds salon business had steady growth in 2011 (lincolnedu.com)