How Sport Clips Secretly Won a Huge Market Share

Historically, the beauty and cosmetic industry has been dominated by female focused hair salons and beauty parlors. In the early 20th century, barber shops became a prevalent part of male culture and society as they brought the comradery of renaissance-style parlor conversation back to fruition. Unfortunately, the barber trade became less popular and declined throughout the 1900s.

In 1993, Gordon Logan recognized the great potential within the men’s haircut market and with hard work and execution, Sport Clips* was conceived. Two years later, he realized the utmost potential within the market and began to franchise. Since then, he accessed a huge market share pioneering men’s only haircut business.

In an interview with 1851 Franchise, Dave Wells, the Senior Director of Franchising at Sport Clips, Inc. provided insight on the past, present and future of the trailblazing haircut franchise.

Since Sport Clips began franchising in 1995, what were some difficulties the brand saw in terms of tailoring yourselves to the target market? Additionally, what did you do to exploit and relate to the target market?

At the time, no one was catering to the men and boys segment. The barber population was aging and there wasn’t a lot of interest at the time for young men to enter the barbering field as a career choice. Men were forced into one of the many unisex salons in what was often an uncomfortable environment.

The idea to target this underserved market niche was obviously brilliant and the decision to go with a sports theme has really resonated with the target audience. When you listen to Gordon tell the story, it idea seems like such a natural thought process that he does himself an injustice describing the simplicity of it all.

Still, as with any brand, it took time to develop recognition and find an audience. There had never been another “salon for men” so there was definitely an education process. Once he started franchising, it took six years to go from the two-initial company owned locations in Austin to get to 50 stores in 2001. There were definitely times where the success of the company appeared to be anything but a sure thing and Gordon has an immense amount of loyalty to the Team Members who stuck with him through those early times and helped develop the brand to what it is today.

Nowadays, there are many brands and locations offering haircuts catering to young men. How has the brand kept up with the times and its competitors?

The “guys like sports and guys get haircuts” theme is so simple and timeless that the brand hasn’t required a whole lot of updating to stay relevant. The logo was updated to a more modern look and the style and color scheme has been updated to remain current and the TVs have gotten (much) bigger, but the overall layout and concept have changed little over time. Product lines have changed with trends (beard products, for example, have surged in recent years) but that is to be expected in this industry.

We recently completed a complete technology overhaul that we believe will resonate with the next generation of clients. Online check-in functionality was launched across the country at the start of the year and that is the first of several key upgrades that will be coming over the next couple of years.

What is your true target market? Also, do you have female clients?

Our concept and advertising aim directly at men in the 18-49 demographic, but in reality, we cater to men and boys of all ages. Having two sons of my own, I understand the allure the brand offers to that age group and once they try the MVP experience, it is all but impossible to get them to go anywhere else.

Also, do you have female clients?

We are often asked if we service women, and while we do have quite a few female clients, most choose to go elsewhere because we don’t offer a lot of the services and treatments they are often looking for.

With the many competitors coming into the men's haircut industry, how does Sport Clips plan to stay ahead keeping its household name?

We’ve seen a lot of competitors come and go over the years, from strong regional players to very similar concepts backed by some of the biggest names in the beauty industry. Recently, quite a few brands have aimed at the higher end of the men’s segment with great success. Obviously, we keep a close eye on these developments, but we don’t worry about them too much. We are confident that if we continue to focus on the client and give them the championship experience they have come to expect from us each and every time they visit one of our stores, that we will continue to dominate the men’s hair care segment.

Sport Clips has been a catalyst in the evolution of the contemporary men’s salon, especially within the franchising world. Holding a majority of the market share, Sport Clips plans to keep with what has brought them success in the past - an inexpensive haircut for young men.