- When: June 26-27, 2012
- Where: Caesars Palace Las Vegas Hotel and Casino
- Who: 4-Eyez, All Hours Tanning Supplies, Australian Gold, Beaming White,
- BEAUTY ANGEL, Bleach Bright, Blinc, California Tan, Cosmedico Light,
- Designer Skin, Devoted Creations, Ergoline, ETS Tan, Eye Pro, Fiesta Sun, Fit
- Body Wrap, Formostar Body Wrap, Four Seasons, Go Loyal, Ed Hardy Tanning,
- Helios, Hempz, Heraeus, Insurtec, ist Magazine, JK Capital, JK Global Service,
- JK Light, Light Sources, Miami Ink, Playboy, Podz Eyewear, ProTan, Salon Sense
- Media, Soltron, SUN ANGEL, Sunbed Supply, SunLync, Suntan Supply, Sunwalls,
- Supre Tan, Swedish Beauty, Tan Republic, Text Ripple, The Lease Coach,
- Universal Insurance, UV Marketing Group, Vemma, Walls + Forms, and Wolff
- System Technology Corp.
Sometimes a tanning event is more than a tanning event – such was the case with JK-North America’s 5th Annual West Coast Tanning Expo. While the show provided plenty of education, entertainment and access to the latest equipment, lotions and accessories, it also gave industry members a glimpse of what to expect in indoor tanning … and the future looks good!
When JK-North America began hosting its West Coast show, the idea was to create an event that was convenient for tanning pros on the West Coast to attend. While the show has – and still does – attract salon operators from that region, the event has evolved. “This Expo has taken on a life of its own and blossomed into a major, international tanning event!” exclaimed Jerry Deveney, JK-North America Executive Director of Sales. “Each year, we’ve not only noticed the attendance growing, but also people coming in from farther and farther away. This year, our Expo attracted nearly 1,400 tanning professionals from the continental United States, as well as Hawaii, Canada and even Europe. Needless to say, we were very impressed with this year’s turnout.”
During his welcome and introduction presentation, Deveney asked, by show of hands, how many attendees were in the process of opening their first salon and a surprisingly large amount of the crowd responded. Furthermore, a high percentage raised their hands when asked if they planned to expand their operation this year. This info, Deveney says, paints a strong picture for the future. “Much of the growth this industry has seen in the 1980s and 90s has led to consolidation when the economy changed,” he said. “This weeded out many operators who weren’t serious businesspeople, while those who knew what they were doing made it through the tough times. Now, those experienced veterans are ready to go grow their businesses, and they’re being joined by a more sophisticated type of entrepreneur who knows how to crunch numbers and make their businesses successful.”
What’s the Word?
Nearly 1,400 tanning professionals from the U.S., Canada and Europe attended the West Coast Tanning Expo to learn something that would help give them an edge in their respective markets. Whether it was the presentations, access to product vendors or good, old-fashioned networking, it seems that everyone took something useful home with them.
Kristin Barfknecht – owner of Body & Sol Tanning Boutique in Newport News, VA – describes herself as a “people person”, and this is exactly what she loved most about the Expo. “This year, I had the opportunity to meet (salon owner) Tania Holowach, whom I’ve been friends with on Facebook for quite a while,” said Kristin. “The Expo gave us the opportunity to talk shop, and we shared a lot of valuable advice on marketing. I can’t wait to meet with my marketing team to figure out exactly how we want to implement the ideas at our salons.”
Tania Holowach – owner of Tandulgence Tanning Salon in Sterling, VA – says she enjoyed meeting Kristin and talking shop with her and other salon owners. She also enjoyed seeing more than 30 BEAUTY ANGEL, SUN ANGEL, Ergoline, Soltron, Sundash and ETS tanning units that were on display. “This was my first tanning event in over two years, and I absolutely loved it!” said Tania. “JK-North America’s shows always have a lot to offer, and I was very impressed with Ergoline’s new Sunstyle Sunless Booth. Like all Ergoline units, this one had a very classy look, and I’m sure our clients would really enjoy the fact that it’s heated. I’m strongly considering offering it at each of my salons.”
The new tanning units were a highlight for Matt Dancer, owner of LA Sunset Tan in Flower Mound, TX. “I think Ergoline’s new sunless unit looks awesome!” he exclaimed. “I was also impressed with their new Sun Select tanning bed series, particularly their ability to adjust the output of the body lamps. I also enjoyed the energy level at the show, and seeing all the people I’ve known for many years.” New tanning units are of particular interested to Dancer, who’s in the process of opening a new LA Sunset Tan salon with 18 tanning rooms, and will include two rooms for sunless spray booths and two for airbrush tanning.
Much to Discuss
The expert Q&A session has become a staple at JK-North America’s events, and for good reason – it allows attendees to gain knowledge from the panelists’ experience. This year’s session, which included some of the industry’s most established tanning pros, was no exception.
Hosted by Jerry Deveney, the panel featured Mike Blore (California Sun), Dan Caskey (Palm Beach Tan), Josiah Garlan (Body Heat Tanning), Vince Lorraine (ist Magazine/Tropi Tan), and Bill Pipp (New Sunshine, Inc.). “The topic of increasing EFT memberships seemed to be the primary focus of the discussion,” Deveney said. “All of the biggest players in this industry understand that more revenue is earned through long-term memberships than simply relying on foot traffic, and they’ve built their business models upon this concept. Now, many of the mom-and-pop and smaller salon chains want to make the most of this revenue potential.”
At the end of the day, EFT memberships can only be successful if a salon’s tanners are utilizing them, says Josiah Garlan. “Looking at EFTs as a way to make money when people aren’t coming into your salon is the wrong way to look at it,” he said. “When clients don’t use their memberships, they’ll strongly consider cancelling it because they’ll see it as an expense, especially if times are tight. Salon owners should always offer their clients incentives to come in and use their memberships because this leads to upgrade and lotion sales while also keeping clients in the system.” Garlan’s Body Heat Tanning offers lotion discounts, free spa service sessions and other incentives to keep VIP members coming back. The company also sells EFT memberships at a value compared to its single session pricing. “When done properly, everybody wins,” he added.
A Plethora of Presentations
To help salon owners continue to be successful, JK-North America outdid itself by offering 18 unique presentations scheduled throughout the Expo’s two days. Each of these events was attended by large groups of tanning salon pros eager to learn all they can to better their businesses and, judging by the applause at the end of each session, they weren’t disappointed. “From a pure business standpoint, these educational and vendor presentations covered every aspect of salon management while being equally entertaining and fun,” said Geoff Mukhtar, JK-North America Marketing Communications Manager. “In addition, the Aces of Acts high-flying, cirque-style performance was absolutely stunning to watch and a real crowd favorite.”
Some of the Expo’s presentations took a more scientific tone, such as Dr. Peter Bjerring’s two-part discussion of “Intelligent Skin Care”. With an emphasis on how light affects the skin, his thought-provoking speech and illustrative graphics explained complex terms so that salon owners could more easily understand the science behind UV and red light. His credentials include being the Medical Director at the Molholm Hospital and also Head of the SkinCenter Molholm. He is Board Certified as a specialist in Dermatology and Venereology, and is a Fellow of the American Society for Lasers in Surgery and Medicine (ASLMS), as well as a Fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD). In February 2007, he was appointed Knight of Denmark by Queen Margrethe II.
A new face from JK was also introduced to the industry: Brynn Scarborough, JK-North America Director of Business Development. As the new spokesperson for the SUN ANGEL and other JK equipment, Brynn captivated the audience with her attention to detail on each new product and the benefits to salon owners and their customers. “Our new product introductions were a huge hit and really created a stir at the show!” said Brynn. “Interest in education was high, and an impressive number of salon owners – many of them new to the industry like me – were in attendance. In addition to being my first show with Ergoline, it was also my first opportunity to meet so many of our amazing customers!.”
Are you aware that indoor tanning has a problem, and that the industry has contributed to it? This was the question Joe Schuster, Sun Is Life® Director, asked Expo attendees during his presentation – “Sun Is Life … The Key to Your Future”. “Did you know that Congress recently conducted a probe of tanning salons across the country, and their conclusion was that many salon pros use lies and misleading information to lure teenage tanners?” Joe asked. “In many ways, we brought this upon ourselves by making medical, health and safety claims about the services we provide. Fortunately, it’s not too late to change course as long as we, as an industry, get on the right road.” The “road” Schuster referred to is one of increased professionalism, which is the goal of Sun Is Life, ist Magazine’s new, interactive salon operator training program. Schuster then introduced the crowd to a sample module of this revolutionary, Internet-based training, which was a hit with the standing-room-only crowd.
Everyone’s a Winner!
The “house” doesn’t always win in Vegas, especially at the West Coast Tanning Expo. More than 30 salon owners took home more than $100,000 in giveaways and prizes donated by Expo exhibitors. This year’s grand prize – an Ergoline Open Sun 550 valued at $34,945 – shows that JK-North America was willing to go “all in.” The tanning unit was won by April Burge, owner of SunTraders Tanning Co. in Redlands, CA. “This was our first time attending a tanning industry event and we had such a great time, and winning the tanning unit was an amazing way to end everything,” said April. “I’m so happy we won because we purchased our salon from previous owners and all of the equipment is a couple of years old. I’m sure our clients will be excited to tan in this brand new bed. I know I am!”
Thank You!
“The Vegas show, now in its fifth year, is definitely growing up,” said Nina Neuschuetz, JK-North America Director of Marketing. “What I mean by that is, when we started five years ago, the look and feel was much smaller in every aspect. This year, we’ve seen our sponsors and exhibitors along with JK-North America step up their displays and efforts to give our attendees the best experience. I would like to thank our Exclusive Diamond Sponsors – Australian Gold, California Tan, Designer Skin and Swedish Beauty – Platinum Sponsors – Supre Tan and Hempz – and Gold Sponsors – Devoted Creations, Ed Hardy Tanning and Light Sources. A big ‘thank you’ also to the many exhibitors and salon attendees who helped to create a successful and memorable West Coast Tanning Expo.”
Everyone at JK-North America is preparing for the company’s September 17th event to be held at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, CT.
