Sport Clips Franchise Information

1. What about Sport Clips makes it unique within its industry?

• Sport Clips Haircuts is the dominant men’s and boy’s haircut franchise in North America and the only hair care concept operating in all 50 states, plus five provinces in Canada.  The men’s segment of the haircutting industry is the most efficient; with no chemicals, easier-to-execute haircuts, and lower inventories.
• We have a 99.4% franchise continuity rate, an honor based on five years of real data, during which time only six Sport Clips stores have closed in the entire country.
• We have a responsible growth plan, adding 150-170 locations each year while maintaining high standards for sites and franchisees (Team Leaders).
• A Great Experience:
  • From a client’s perspective, there are many options to choose from, but what makes Sport Clips different is the experience we provide. Clients receive a haircut from stylists who specialize in men’s and boys’ hair care and who have all completed training in our All Star haircutting system. We offer relaxing amenities and our signature service, the MVP Experience, is  a 20-minute, no-appointment-necessary session that includes a precision haircut, steamed towel, invigorating massaging shampoo, and relaxing neck and shoulder treatment in a unique, sports-themed environment. Our clients enjoy sports on TV while they get their haircut, and if you’re a traveler within the U.S. and Canada, you can get the same experience at any one of our 1,600 locations.
  • We emphasize not only the client experience, but also the stylist experience.  For example, our floors are anti-fatigue “sport court”-type floors, which make it much more comfortable for our stylists who are on their feet all day; shampoo units are European-style, where the stylist stands behind the client to perform the massaging shampoo – more comfortable for our clients and easier on our stylists’ backs. And, we offer tremendous career opportunities for our stylists - management track, educator track, and even, salon ownership. Some of our top management team members are licensed professionals, including the founder’s wife!

2. What have been some of the brand's most important milestones over the past five years?  

• Sport Clips has been growing at a rate of 130-160 stores per year.  In the last five years we’ve nearly doubled in size going from 835 stores to over 1,600 stores open today and have a 99.4% “franchise continuity rate” – unheard of in the industry.
• Expanded to Canada in 2012 and now have 31 stores open. 
• For the last five years, Sport Clips continues to move up in the Entrepreneur Magazine Rankings – from #91 in 2012 to #16 in 2016.   
• For the last three years, Sport Clips was rated by Forbes Magazine as one of the 10 best franchise investments in our cost bracket ($150,000-$500,000)…no other hair care franchise was listed in any of the three categories.
• This year, Sport Clips reached $3B in haircut sales.  We should hit $5B in another 2-3 years. 

3. What plans does the brand have in the coming years? 

We are continually testing ways to enhance the  Clients’ experience  as well as the Stylists’ experience within Sport Clips.  Technology is always a focus for us, and we  are in the process of implementing  mobile check-in software/hardware package and plan to have it fully functional by next summer.  The ability to have our clients go online/phone and see wait times, pick their favorite stylist, and get in the queue will be really good for our experience.    

4. What does an ideal franchisee look like?

We look for candidates with strong managerial and communication skills, and who enjoy working with, and developing, people and marketing their store.  This is a people business. Franchisees will work with the manager and oversee multiple units.  Their primary responsibility is to market their business and drive sales.

5. Why is Sport Clips a good investment? 

From an owner’s perspective, Sport Clips is the #1 Haircare franchise that caters to the millions of men and boys in the U.S. and Canada, a niche market and one that’s not highly impacted by the economy or internet…men and boys need a haircut every few weeks.  Sport Clips offers a semi-absentee, recession resistant, lifestyle franchise (12 to 15 hours per week is typical), most continue to work at current position while building investment in the business.  Transition to full time business ownership is usually around 5 open stores. The concept is also highly scalable (our largest franchisee recently reached 50 stores open) and has a relatively low investment level ($183K - $351K per store).