Fantastic Sams Hair Salons vs Great Clips Franchise Comparison

Below is an in-depth analysis and side-by-side comparison of Fantastic Sams Hair Salons vs Great Clips including start-up costs and fees, business experience requirements, training & support and financing options.

Start-Up Costs and Fees
	Fantastic Sams Hair Salons Franchise	Great Clips Franchise
Investment	$215,000 - $479,000	$146,900 - $282,400
Franchise Fee	$30,000	$20,000
Royalty Fee	$362+/wk.	6%
Advertising Fee	$142/week	5%
Year Founded	1974	1982
Year Franchised	1976	1983
Term Of Agreement	10 years	10 years
Term Of Agreement	10 years	10 years
Renewal Fee	Varies	$1.75K
Business Experience Requirements
	Fantastic Sams Hair Salons Franchise	Great Clips Franchise
Experience	General business experience	Marketing skills Strong management & leadership skills
Financing Options
	Fantastic Sams Hair Salons Franchise	Great Clips Franchise
	In-House/3rd Party	In-House/3rd Party
Franchise Fees	No/No	No/Yes
Start-up Costs	No/Yes	No/Yes
Equipment	No/Yes	No/Yes
Inventory	No/Yes	No/Yes
Receivables	No/Yes	No/Yes
Payroll	No/Yes	No/Yes
Training & Support
	Fantastic Sams Hair Salons Franchise	Great Clips Franchise
Training	Available in MA: 1 week Salon Fundamentals At regional office: ongoing On-The-Job Training: ongoing Classroom Training: 32 hours	-
Support	Purchasing Co-ops Newsletter Meetings/Conventions Toll-Free Line Grand Opening Online Support Security/Safety Procedures Field Operations Site Selection Franchisee Intranet Platform	Meetings, Toll-free phone line, Grand opening, Internet, Security/safety procedures, Field operations/evaluations, Purchasing cooperatives
Marketing	Co-op Advertising Ad Templates National Media Regional Advertising Social media SEO Website development Email marketing Loyalty program/app	Co-op advertising
Operations	50% of all franchisees own more than one unit Number of employees needed to run franchised unit: 8	Number of employees needed to run franchised unit: 8 - 10 Absentee ownership of franchise is allowed. (95% of current franchisees are owner/operators)
Expansion Plans
	Fantastic Sams Hair Salons Franchise	Great Clips Franchise
US Expansion	Yes	Yes
Canada Expansion	Yes	No
International Expansion	No	Yes

Company Overviews

About Fantastic Sams Hair Salons

Join a Franchise that:
* Is Recession Resistant
* Is A Leader in its Category
* Does not require previous experience
* Has a low investment
* Offers Single & Multi-Unit Development Opportunities
Owning a Fantastic Sams Hair Salon franchise is a great investment because:
* The hair care business is large, growing, recession resistant and immune to technology or other competitive forces. Hair is always growing and the demand for more services and personal attention by today's consumer creates a great opportunity for the right hair salon business model. The American Salon's Green Book, the bible of the salon business, cites numerous hair care business trends that greatly favor the Fantastic Sams hair salon franchise model
* As a leading hair salon franchise, Fantastic Sams Hair Salon has been featured in some of the top industry and business publications
o Entrepreneur Magazine
o Franchise 500 - #1 Full Service Hair Salon Franchise; #50 overall
o Franchise Times - #54 of Top 200 Franchises
o Black Enterprise - Top Franchises for African Americans
o Poder Enterprise Magazine - Top Franchises for Hispanics
o USA Today - Top Franchises for Minorities
* You don't need to have any previous experience in the Hair Salon Business. Whether you are interested in developing single or multiple salons, as an owner of a Fantastic Sams Hair Salon Franchise, each day you'll work on your business, not in your business. Using your skills in marketing, employee relations, and business management, you dictate the success of your salon or salons.
* In the hair care business, Fantastic Sams Hair Salon fills a large niche that no one else is exploiting - the full-service salon at reasonable prices. And with a low initial investment, owning a Fantastic Sams Hair Salon Franchise is a great business decision.

Veteran Incentives 25% off franchise fee

About Great Clips

Established in 1982, Great Clips started franchising in 1983 and now has locations throughout the United States and Canada. Usually located in strip malls,

Great Clips hair salons are open evenings and weekends and do not require appointments. On average, franchisees operate three units. Great Clips sponsors NASCAR Busch Series driver Kasey Kahne. The company has also partnered with General Mills, Sprint, Best Buy, Blockbuster, Coca-Cola, Hasbro and DreamWorks.

The total investment necessary to begin operation of a Great Clips franchise is from $146,900 to $282,400. This includes $25,250 to $30,000 that must be paid to Great Clips or an affiliate for a single franchise agreement, and $40,250 to $45,000 that must be paid to Great Clips or an affiliate for the first salon you develop under a Three Star Program Agreement.

If you sign a Master Development Agreement, you also must pay to Great Clips or an affiliate a Development Fee of $4,000 for each salon you agree to develop, which would amount to $8,000 to $40,000 if you were granted the right to develop between two and 10 salons.