Special Feature
Guinot
Did you always imagine you’d run more than one Guinot? What was the plan? When I opened my first Guinot franchise in 2014, my long-term ambition was to expand with a second salon. The fact that we have been able to open a second branch within three years is testament to the power of the Guinot brand in attracting clients looking for professional skincare.
When did you know it was the right time to expand? A lot of hard work was involved in building up the Gerrards Cross salon, but once I achieved the level of growth in sales and profitability set out in my original business plan, I felt it was the right time to open up my second salon.
What support do you receive from Guinot and how has it helped you to become a multiple business owner? My first franchise exceeded my expectations, and although that was down to the commitment and hard work my husband, Jay, and I put in, I couldn’t have done it without the great team of therapists we have built up and the expertise and support of the Guinot team. A good marketing strategy is crucial for the success of a business in such a competitive and thriving industry, so the level of marketing support I receive from Guinot is certainly one of the main reasons for my success so far. Seasonal promotions are planned by Guinot and delivered to us straight to the salon every six weeks, along with easy step-by-step guides on how to implement the marketing strategy. By not having to spend time developing my own marketing plan I am able to focus on other
more important aspects of the business, such as my team and the service we are providing our clients.
How do you manage your time now that you are a multi-unit franchisee? My husband works full time in the business and we have divided up the key managerial responsibilities between the us. While he looks after the sales, marketing and finance, I still work as a therapist two days a week and split the remainder of my time managing and coaching the therapists to continue to deliver the best salon experience.
Any plans for a third salon? Or even an empire? We always viewed the Guinot franchise model as a scalable business plan and certainly aim to have at least one more salon running in the next couple of years. In the long term, we’ve got our sights on an even bigger operation. This is where the Guinot model and infrastructure is geared towards a multi-branch business.
Any advice for those with their sights set on multi-unit operations? You need to have a vision about where you want to go in the long term, but keep working hard on the day-to-day business to ensure it provides the best customer experience possible.
Has everything gone as you expected it would? What were the challenges? We’ve certainly had our fair share of challenges, and I’m sure we will continue to. However, with the strong backing of the Guinot franchise team and a team of our own amazing therapists, we are very
In 2014, Tina Rai began operating her Guinot skincare franchise salon in Gerrards Cross; just three years later, she opened her second site in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire.
confident that we can continue to achieve further growth and success.
What’s the best thing about running your Guinot franchises? Being a Guinot franchisee is rewarding revenue-wise, but for me, helping my clients to achieve their skin goals really is my favourite part of the job. Not only do I see the physical changes I make to my clients’ skin, but I also see their overall attitude and confidence in life change due to the specialist care my team and I provide.
Faye Fisher, marketing executive at Guinot, says: “There are many attributes we look for in our franchisees and, although previous experience in the beauty industry would be very useful, it is not absolutely necessary; we look for hard-working, enthusiastic, determined, focused and committed individuals. Members of our franchise network are passionate, professional and genuine, and it’s these qualities that build customer loyalty and keep clients coming back to Guinot salons time and time again. “We suggest franchisees set up and run their first site initially for at least 12 months before considering a second site. This is so that they are able to get used to the running of the franchise and the system they will be following before implementing that into another salon. Currently, we have one franchisee who operates two sites. Both Jay and Tina are hard-working and thrive off the success of their businesses. The passion they have for their salons and clients is what has made them the perfect candidates to be our first multi-unit franchisees.”
April 2018 |
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