With more beauty and wellness professionals choosing to work for themselves, IMAGE Studios sees plenty of room to grow across the country. The salon suite franchise is looking beyond major cities to suburbs and secondary markets where population growth, available real estate and demand for high-end salon spaces are creating new opportunities.
“We, as a whole, have a tremendous amount of white space available to us,” said Anne Goldman, Vice President of Franchise Real Estate. “We only have 140-plus locations, and we have 300 that have either been sold or are in the queue to be built out. When you look across the United States at the number of beauty and health professionals out there, there's so much opportunity left to tap into.”
IMAGE Studios doesn’t view any market as saturated with beauty and grooming concepts because the industry continues to grow rapidly. An expanding number of beauty professionals and rising interest in entrepreneurship, particularly among Gen Z, are creating continued demand for independent business opportunities.
As the luxury leader in this category, IMAGE Studios is meeting the growing demand for everyday luxury. People want a space that matches their aesthetic.
“We see that as creating so much more opportunity for us, even in markets that currently have salon suites,” said Lizzie Webb, Vice President of Operations.
IMAGE Studios does have a hot-market strategy that identifies priority cities and regions each quarter. Current growth targets include Southern California, particularly San Diego, Riverside County and Los Angeles County, as well as Midwest markets such as Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Chicago and Milwaukee. The brand is also expanding in Florida, including Orlando and Palm Beach, while building its presence in the Washington, D.C., metro area and continuing to expand northward toward Baltimore.
Since the pandemic, more people have moved away from major Northeast cities and into suburban and secondary markets, particularly in the Southeast. As those communities have grown, IMAGE Studios has seen more opportunities to expand into them.
That movement has fueled residential development and population growth in markets that may not yet have a significant presence from competing salon suite brands. Florida is one example, with rapid home construction creating opportunities that may not be apparent from existing market data.
IMAGE Studios is also tapping into growing demand for “everyday luxury” outside major cities.
“You see something that may have been in L.A., New York or Miami, and now we want to bring it to Lexington, Kentucky, Indianapolis, and Cincinnati,” Webb said. “I think it’s about being able to have what you see on Instagram and TikTok in your own community, even if it’s a smaller town like Mansfield, Texas.”
IMAGE Studios has a real estate advantage because of its specific space requirements. The brand typically looks for locations between 4,500 and 6,500 square feet, giving it access to spaces that may not work for concepts seeking smaller footprints.
“When you get on the ground and start looking at real estate, that’s probably where we’ve really lucked out,” Goldman said. “Recently, we’ve had a couple of opportunities presented to us where other salons are approaching their renewals and are not going to renew. We’re going after what you might call second-generation salon spaces, locations that previously housed a salon-type concept.”
The opportunity is less about avoiding competition and more about entering with a differentiated concept. While real estate costs remain a consideration, IMAGE Studios is comfortable entering markets with existing salon suite competitors because of its positioning as a luxury brand. Having competitors nearby can even work to IMAGE Studios’ advantage by allowing customers and beauty professionals to compare concepts and recognize the brand’s design and upscale positioning in their local market.
“One of the things we really encourage, particularly for first-time franchisees, is to open in their local area because they have those relationships,” Webb said. “They know their community, and they know what that community needs. Being a first mover in your own city can be a great benefit to franchisees.”
IMAGE Studios is also open to independent salon suite owners interested in converting or remodeling their existing locations, creating another avenue for the brand to expand into available markets.
Beauty, health and wellness professionals can be found in markets across the country, giving IMAGE Studios a broad pool of potential tenants as it expands. The brand also benefits from the diversity of professionals its studios can accommodate. Only about half are hair professionals, with the remainder spanning services such as aesthetics, massage, brows, waxing and Botox, along with other health, beauty and wellness-adjacent businesses. This range allows IMAGE Studios to serve a broader professional community when entering new markets.
“We have CPAs who specialize in beauty professionals,” Webb said. “We have luxury florists. I even had a balloon artist in one of our stores in Florida. When it comes to demand, the demand is everywhere when you look at the range of professionals we can serve.”
IMAGE Studios got its start during the 2008 recession, when its founder, Jason Olsen, saw that people were still spending money on beauty and wellness services. That demand has continued, giving the brand confidence that its concept can work in markets across the country.
IMAGE Studios’ white-space strategy offers an opportunity to enter markets where the brand still has significant room to grow. The model can also appeal to investors who want to pursue entrepreneurship while maintaining their existing careers. And with IMAGE Studios expecting to add 40 to 50 locations annually, Webb said available territories will continue to be claimed.
“If people are interested in the opportunity, now is the time to strike,” Webb said. “If people want to put one in their backyard, now is the time to strike. We’re not sitting on territory. We’re not holding territory for people.”
To find out more information on costs to buy this franchise, please visit https://1851franchise.com/image-studios.
Image Studios
SPONSORED
With opportunities in major metros, suburbs and secondary markets, the salon suite franchise is targeting new markets as demand from beauty and wellness professionals continues to grow.
With more beauty and wellness professionals choosing to work for themselves, IMAGE Studios sees plenty of room to grow across the country. The salon suite franchise is looking beyond major cities to suburbs and secondary markets where population growth, available real estate and demand for high-end salon spaces are creating new opportunities.
“We, as a whole, have a tremendous amount of white space available to us,” said Anne Goldman, Vice President of Franchise Real Estate. “We only have 140-plus locations, and we have 300 that have either been sold or are in the queue to be built out. When you look across the United States at the number of beauty and health professionals out there, there's so much opportunity left to tap into.”
IMAGE Studios doesn’t view any market as saturated with beauty and grooming concepts because the industry continues to grow rapidly. An expanding number of beauty professionals and rising interest in entrepreneurship, particularly among Gen Z, are creating continued demand for independent business opportunities.
As the luxury leader in this category, IMAGE Studios is meeting the growing demand for everyday luxury. People want a space that matches their aesthetic.
“We see that as creating so much more opportunity for us, even in markets that currently have salon suites,” said Lizzie Webb, Vice President of Operations.
IMAGE Studios does have a hot-market strategy that identifies priority cities and regions each quarter. Current growth targets include Southern California, particularly San Diego, Riverside County and Los Angeles County, as well as Midwest markets such as Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Chicago and Milwaukee. The brand is also expanding in Florida, including Orlando and Palm Beach, while building its presence in the Washington, D.C., metro area and continuing to expand northward toward Baltimore.
Since the pandemic, more people have moved away from major Northeast cities and into suburban and secondary markets, particularly in the Southeast. As those communities have grown, IMAGE Studios has seen more opportunities to expand into them.
That movement has fueled residential development and population growth in markets that may not yet have a significant presence from competing salon suite brands. Florida is one example, with rapid home construction creating opportunities that may not be apparent from existing market data.
IMAGE Studios is also tapping into growing demand for “everyday luxury” outside major cities.
“You see something that may have been in L.A., New York or Miami, and now we want to bring it to Lexington, Kentucky, Indianapolis, and Cincinnati,” Webb said. “I think it’s about being able to have what you see on Instagram and TikTok in your own community, even if it’s a smaller town like Mansfield, Texas.”
IMAGE Studios has a real estate advantage because of its specific space requirements. The brand typically looks for locations between 4,500 and 6,500 square feet, giving it access to spaces that may not work for concepts seeking smaller footprints.
“When you get on the ground and start looking at real estate, that’s probably where we’ve really lucked out,” Goldman said. “Recently, we’ve had a couple of opportunities presented to us where other salons are approaching their renewals and are not going to renew. We’re going after what you might call second-generation salon spaces, locations that previously housed a salon-type concept.”
The opportunity is less about avoiding competition and more about entering with a differentiated concept. While real estate costs remain a consideration, IMAGE Studios is comfortable entering markets with existing salon suite competitors because of its positioning as a luxury brand. Having competitors nearby can even work to IMAGE Studios’ advantage by allowing customers and beauty professionals to compare concepts and recognize the brand’s design and upscale positioning in their local market.
“One of the things we really encourage, particularly for first-time franchisees, is to open in their local area because they have those relationships,” Webb said. “They know their community, and they know what that community needs. Being a first mover in your own city can be a great benefit to franchisees.”
IMAGE Studios is also open to independent salon suite owners interested in converting or remodeling their existing locations, creating another avenue for the brand to expand into available markets.
Beauty, health and wellness professionals can be found in markets across the country, giving IMAGE Studios a broad pool of potential tenants as it expands. The brand also benefits from the diversity of professionals its studios can accommodate. Only about half are hair professionals, with the remainder spanning services such as aesthetics, massage, brows, waxing and Botox, along with other health, beauty and wellness-adjacent businesses. This range allows IMAGE Studios to serve a broader professional community when entering new markets.
“We have CPAs who specialize in beauty professionals,” Webb said. “We have luxury florists. I even had a balloon artist in one of our stores in Florida. When it comes to demand, the demand is everywhere when you look at the range of professionals we can serve.”
IMAGE Studios got its start during the 2008 recession, when its founder, Jason Olsen, saw that people were still spending money on beauty and wellness services. That demand has continued, giving the brand confidence that its concept can work in markets across the country.
IMAGE Studios’ white-space strategy offers an opportunity to enter markets where the brand still has significant room to grow. The model can also appeal to investors who want to pursue entrepreneurship while maintaining their existing careers. And with IMAGE Studios expecting to add 40 to 50 locations annually, Webb said available territories will continue to be claimed.
“If people are interested in the opportunity, now is the time to strike,” Webb said. “If people want to put one in their backyard, now is the time to strike. We’re not sitting on territory. We’re not holding territory for people.”
To find out more information on costs to buy this franchise, please visit https://1851franchise.com/image-studios.
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