In a world where appearances count, a healthy-looking tan is an essential part of a positive self-image for many people. The desire to not only look good, but to feel good about your appearance has created the basis for the $6 billion-per-year indoor tanning industry.
Palm Beach Tan has built its brand around providing customers with convenience and choice, as well as building relationships with integrity. We believe this will result in the ultimate tanning experience, guaranteed.
At Palm Beach Tan, our 20-year track record of success comes from delivering what appearance-conscious customers want. With more than 121 stores in 20 U.S. markets, we are the established, nationally recognized market leader in the growing indoor tanning market. Expansion plans include opening 28 stores in the U.S. during 2007.
Palm Beach Tan founders developed the idea of a “tanning superstore,” with prototype stores consisting of a large retail space with 20-25 tanning beds – two to three times the amount of a typical tanning salon.
In 2003, Donald Zale, former President & CEO of Zale Jewelers, bought Palm Beach Tan’s first franchise. His well-known business philosophy: Do whatever it takes to attract and retain customers.1
In December of 2006, Palm Beach Tan acquired Maple Valley, Wash.-based Desert Sun Tanning Salons. About 40 of Desert Sun's 55 locations are in greater Seattle. The company plans to develop Desert Sun salons in Washington, Oregon, California and Arizona while continuing to develop Palm Beach Tan salons in the remaining states.2
A lucrative, high-margin business, the current indoor tanning industry is comparable to the independently run, single unit operators of video rental stores two decades ago. “The top five tanning chains in the country have only 5% of the market, leaving 95% to the mom and pops,” said Steve Berkman, a former Blockbuster executive who is Palm Beach Tan’s Vice President of Franchise Services. “There is a phenomenal consolidation opportunity in the indoor tanning segment, and we are prepared to do whatever it takes to make that happen.”
Our concept is all about choice. Our locations offer our customers unlimited tanning without contracts or commitments, and we offer a number of personalized services like Mystic Tan®, a UV-free tanning system originated at Palm Beach Tan; several styles of tanning beds; and premium skin care products. Contact us for details.
With the superstore concept, Palm Beach Tan made a strategic decision to create a clean, inviting store environment that offers convenience and several choices of the highest-quality tanning equipment, including the popular Mystic Tan® Sunless Tanning System. A well-trained, professional staff helps customers attain the “healthy glow” they desire.
The mainstreaming of indoor tanning is evident in its shifting demographics: Previously practiced almost exclusively by women in their late teens and early 20s, by 2006, 30% of tanners were men, with the median age of about 30.3
1. Zale heats up tanning business. Franchise Times. November/December 2005.
2. Palm Beach Tan Acquires Desert Sun. Desert Sun News. Jan. 4, 2007.
3. Touch of Color: Demand for a year-round bronze gives tanning salons their moment in the sun. Shopping Centers Today: The Magazine for the Retail Real Estate Industry. December 2005.