Stirling tanning firm Indigo Sun to expand after record profits
- Published
Indigo Sun has nearly 100 tanning salons across the UK
One of the UK's biggest tanning salon chains is planning further expansion after seeing turnover and profits double in the last financial year.
Stirling-based Indigo Sun said many customers returned to its salons after the Covid-19 lockdowns ended.
The family-run firm said customers spent an average of £500 a year on tanning.
It posted its best ever results in the year to September with turnover of more than £26m and pre-tax profits of £5.5m.
The firm, which runs almost 100 salons across the UK, said it had a platform for "an ambitious period of expansion", with plans to open 10 new salons a year.
Founder and chief executive Frank Taylor said: "In 2022 we saw full freedom from Covid closures.
"That was a clear signal for our customers to return to our salons.
"They did so in such numbers that, during peak periods in 2022, we were serving 140,000 people a week."
The family-run firm, which employs more than 800 people from London to Inverness, plans to focus its expansion on towns or population centres with about 100,000 people.
In bigger cities, it aims to create clusters of salons for more streamlined management.
Frank Taylor says his company has found "the perfect niche" for its salons
The company said it had positioned itself as a "sought-after tenant" for commercial landlords and property managers operating retail outlets on major arterial routes inside towns and cities.
Mr Taylor said Indigo Sun had found "the perfect niche".
He added: "These locations are very much about convenience.
"Customers drive in and can see the full retail offering in front of them, be it a supermarket, a coffee shop or a pharmacy.
"They may spend as little as 30 minutes in these retail centres - including a sunbed session - and then head on their way.
"That is perfect for what they need and want."
Mr Taylor set up the business in 1993 after running a successful chain of video rental stores.
He spotted the threat posed by DVDs and online streaming, so exited the business and transformed his shops into tanning salons.