Hair salons that specifically cater to men are having a heyday in the U.S., with new brands in the category popping up nationwide. In addition to Sport Clips, which is experiencing national growth in all markets, newer brands are also proliferating in this category, including Scissors & Scotch, Hammer & Nails Grooming Shop for Guys and Boardroom Salon for Men. Look for these male-centric salons to expand in all forms of retail venues within all types of markets: urban street front, lifestyle centers, suburban strip centers, power centers, grocery-anchored shopping centers and traditional regional malls. Areas with a large percentage of higher-earning millennials are especially attractive to this hair service segment.
The recent COVID-19 lockdowns, which had forced all hair salons to temporarily close, prompted men to experiment with their own hair maintenance solutions, whether that meant growing out their hair, forming beards or creating their own unique buzzed-cut solutions. This feeling of “anything goes” continues as hair salons are once again open, and men are more willing to experiment with all forms of hair styles for themselves. Hair maintenance for men is also increasingly popular because office environments are once again opening up, requiring men to have a professional, well-groomed appearance. Many males today have no qualms about spending money to pamper themselves, or to achieve the latest trendy hair cutting and styling looks.
Sport Clips — one of the first hair salons to franchise the concept of an elevated haircut experience that caters to males — is still going strong with expansion 26 years later and expects to open approximately 100 new units per year over the next three years. Growth will take place in all 50 states, with even the brand’s most mature markets opening new stores. Sport Clips seeks space between 1,000 and 1,400 s.f., inline or outparcel, in power centers ideally with a Target or a Walmart, as well as grocery-anchored centers and strip centers with national retail neighbors, such as Starbucks, Wingstop, Chipotle or Panera Bread. Areas targeted should have a population reach of around 50,000, with a medium to higher income demographic. Sport Clips, which currently has approximately 1,840 stores in the U.S., is known for its sports-themed interior as well as its “MVP experience” haircut, which includes a steamed towel face wrap and a neck/shoulder massage.
Scissors & Scotch has a goal of opening between 30 and 35 new units per year over the next four years. Territories the franchise expects to penetrate include Chicago, Atlanta, Minneapolis, New York City, Phoenix and Seattle. The Midwest-based chain will also continue to grow in markets where it already has a presence, including Washington, D.C., and its surrounding areas (especially Northern Virginia), in addition to Texas markets in and around Austin, San Antonio and Houston. Look for Oklahoma City, Denver, Nashville, Tenn., and Des Moines, Iowa, to also see new units. The franchise seeks inline space between 1,700 and 2,800 s.f., ideally in newer Class A luxury mixed-use multifamily live-work-play development projects, including ground-floor retail street-front units in high-density metro neighborhoods that continue to experience residential population growth. Demographics should include high-earning, college-educated males in the 25- to 40-year-old range. Space can also be in higher-end power centers or lifestyle centers. Preferred co-tenants include premium brands that cater to luxury health and wellness customers, such as Life Time, Clean Juice and Hand & Stone Massage & Facial Spa. Scissors & Scotch, which provides a complimentary drink (alcoholic or otherwise) to its customers, differentiates itself from its competitors by having a full cocktail bar and lounge setting in its salons, complete with stools and leather chairs, to go along with the brand’s high-end offerings such as haircuts, spa treatments, waxing, shaves and even shoeshine services.
The Hammer & Nails Grooming Shop for Guys franchise may only have 13 units, but the brand expects to open at least 13 more units late by 2021/early 2022, and then open between 30 and 35 new units per year from 2022 until 2025. The franchise has inked development deals in 40 states, and the areas targeted for growth include markets in and around Cincinnati, Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio.
Also, look for new units along the Gulf Coast of Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, Washington, D.C., Maryland and California, especially throughout Sacramento. The male grooming salon looks for inline space between 1,400 and 2,000 s.f. in upscale retail street-front urban areas, including ground-floor space in mixed-use apartment buildings, in addition to densely populated suburban retail strip centers and grocery-anchored power centers. Preferred co-tenants include Starbucks and higher-end grocery brands, such as Sprouts Farmers Market. Hammer & Nails provides all forms of male grooming services (cuts, shaves, manicures and pedicures), along with a complimentary alcoholic beverage (cocktails, beer, etc.). Each customer can also wear noise-canceling headphones to watch DirecTV programming.
Boardroom Salon for Men, with 43 units in eight states, anticipates opening up to 15 new units per year over the next two years. For three years now the brand partnered with LightBay Capital to assist with its retail growth, and Boardroom Salon expects to continue opening new corporate-owned locations in markets surrounding Washington, D.C., such as its Rockville, Md., and Fairfax, Va., units that opened earlier this year. Other markets eyed for growth include Charlotte, N.C., San Antonio and Austin, Texas, as well as metros in Tennessee. Units run between 1,500 and 2,000 s.f., and the brand seeks inline or end cap space in downtown retail street fronts, including mixed-use buildings in cities with a thriving business office area and numerous upscale shopping centers in the vicinity. The hair salon will also consider power centers, grocery-anchored centers and strip mall centers in growing densely populated affluent metros. Boardroom Salon prefers healthier fast-casual dining, grocers and fitness-minded co-tenants popular with millennials, such as CAVA, Whole Foods Market and Koko FitClub. Boardroom Salon provides haircuts, spa experiences and shaves, along with complimentary alcoholic beverages, in a sophisticated interior that includes pool tables and chess boards.
