Cost Cutters Family Hair Care vs Great Clips Franchise Comparison

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

Start-Up Costs and Fees
	Cost Cutters Family Hair Care Franchise	Great Clips Franchise
Investment	$148,930 - $316,700	$146,900 - $282,400
Franchise Fee	$39,500	$20,000
Royalty Fee	6%	6%
Advertising Fee	4%	5%
Year Founded	1982	1982
Year Franchised	1982	1983
Term Of Agreement	15 years	10 years
Term Of Agreement	15 years	10 years
Renewal Fee	-	$1.75K
Business Experience Requirements
	Cost Cutters Family Hair Care Franchise	Great Clips Franchise
Experience	General business experience Marketing skills Retail/service industry experience useful	Marketing skills Strong management & leadership skills
Financing Options
	Cost Cutters Family Hair Care 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/No	No/Yes
Payroll	No/No	No/Yes
Training & Support
	Cost Cutters Family Hair Care Franchise	Great Clips Franchise
Training	On-the-job training: 46.5 hours Classroom training: 24 hours Additional training: As needed	-
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 Regional Advertising Social media SEO	Co-op advertising
Operations	Franchisees required to buy multiple units/master licenses; 95% of all franchisees own more than one unit Number of employees needed to run franchised unit: 6 - 8 Absentee ownership of franchise is allowed. (20% of current franchisees are owner/operators)	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
	Cost Cutters Family Hair Care Franchise	Great Clips Franchise
US Expansion	Yes	Yes
Canada Expansion	No	No
International Expansion	No	Yes

Company Overviews

About Cost Cutters Family Hair Care

In 1963, Joe Francis opened the first The Barbers Hairstyling for Men salon in Minnesota. Five years later, the salons began styling women's hair. In 1982, Francis diversified even more, founding family salon Cost Cutters. Twelve Cost Cutters centers opened that first year, and six years later, the 300th salon opened. Today, Cost Cutters is owned by Regis Corporation, a Minneapolis-based company that also owns a host of other hair salons, including City Looks, Regis Salons, Supercuts and We Care Hair.

Veteran Incentives $2,500 rebate on first-store franchise fee

#244 in Franchise 500 for 2020.

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.