Great Clips vs Ideal Image Franchise Comparison

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

Start-Up Costs and Fees
	Great Clips Franchise	Ideal Image Franchise
Investment	$146,900 - $282,400	$551,300 - $903,400
Franchise Fee	$20,000	$25,000 - $35,000
Royalty Fee	6%	9%
Advertising Fee	5%	-
Year Founded	1982	2001
Year Franchised	1983	2004
Term Of Agreement	10 years	10 years
Term Of Agreement	10 years	10 years
Renewal Fee	$1.75K	$10000 or 25% of current fee
Business Experience Requirements
	Great Clips Franchise	Ideal Image Franchise
Experience	Marketing skills Strong management & leadership skills	-
Financing Options
	Great Clips Franchise	Ideal Image Franchise
	In-House/3rd Party	In-House/3rd Party
Franchise Fees	No/Yes	No/No
Start-up Costs	No/Yes	No/No
Equipment	No/Yes	No/Yes
Inventory	No/Yes	No/Yes
Receivables	No/Yes	No/No
Payroll	No/Yes	No/No
Training & Support
	Great Clips Franchise	Ideal Image Franchise
Training	-	-
Support	Meetings, Toll-free phone line, Grand opening, Internet, Security/safety procedures, Field operations/evaluations, Purchasing cooperatives	-
Marketing	Co-op advertising	-
Operations	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
	Great Clips Franchise	Ideal Image Franchise
US Expansion	Yes	-
Canada Expansion	No	No
International Expansion	Yes	No

Company Overviews

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.