It was an exciting day at Great Clips yesterday, waking up early to check the Entrepreneur Franchise 500 list to learn our rank for this year; rumor had that it this would be, perhaps, the year when Great Clips would make top billing following more than a decade of year-over-year consistent growth in the system. And I was not disappointed. Great Clips ranked #7! Out of the more than 1,000 different franchise concepts that applied for the list this year (one of the most competitive lists ever!), Great Clips ranked in the top 10!
It’s an incredible honor to be ranked amongst some of the top franchise concepts on the planet. While part of me hates to “toot my own horn” as they say, the recognition is well deserved. Entrepreneur looks at many different factors as they create their list, including costs and fees, size and growth, support, brand strength, and financial strength and stability. Great Clips has spent the last decade-plus moving each of these categories forward.
Franchisee profitability has increased nearly 60% since 2010. We continue to add nearly 200 new salons to the system each year, surpassing the 4,200 total salon mark in 2017. Great Clips has also experienced over 53 consecutive quarters of same-salon sales growth! That’s more than 13 years! How many companies can say that?! Great Clips also added new technology to the customer experience with the industry leading Great Clips App featuring Online Check-In that has been downloaded well over 6 million times! And our leaders continue to push the system forward while never losing focus on a great customer experience in the salon.
It’s fun to be recognized by outside organizations for all that hard work and progress, and it’s great to share the excitement that these lists bring. The reality is that Great Clips is the kind of company that is going to continue to do what we do best, no matter where we rank. We are going to focus on our customers, and do our very best to challenge each other to succeed. It’s that kind of determination that allows us to enjoy the accolades that do come our way.
So, a huge thank you to Entrepreneur for recognizing all the hard work that goes into this business; from the leaders at the home office, all the way to the franchise salon owners and their stylists who are putting in the hours every day to create great haircuts for their customers.
As we like to say around here, It’s Gonna Be Great!