BRITAIN’s biggest sunbed chain has opened its latest salon in Huddersfield, meeting growing demand and its ongoing expansion plans.
The new salon was launched following a £350,000 investment by Indigo Sun, and sees it become a flagship for the firm’s UK-wide expansion following a brand refresh, creating eight new jobs.
It is part of an ongoing expansion plan and marks Indigo Sun’s fourth salon in Yorkshire, with a fifth due to follow within months – and brings the firm’s headcount in Yorkshire to 40.
Frank Taylor, founder and CEO of the family firm, said the Wakefield Road Retail Park location is a perfect snapshot of Indigo Sun’s growth plans.
He added: “We have around 18,000 loyal and regular customers across Yorkshire and that number is growing all the time.
“We’re delighted to be investing so heavily in the area to ensure they have the best possible choice of tanning options in the most convenient locations.
“We’ve just recorded our most successful ever year, as people got back to normal after the pandemic and are determined to start travelling and taking holidays with great enthusiasm.
“The end of lockdown was a clear signal for our customers to return to our salons, including all of our Yorkshire outlets.
“Across the country they did so in such numbers that at peak periods in 2022 we were serving 140,000 people a week.”
During lockdown Indigo Sun mapped out an ambitious growth strategy which will see it open 10 new outlets every year.
Frank added: “Everything now is about location.
“We are looking for retail sites in towns that are on main arterial routes, offer free parking and have access to a diverse range of other outlets – and our new Huddersfield site is a perfect example.
“It was previously a kitchen design outlet and is part of a parade of three shops with surrounding retailers including a major gym, supermarkets and fast-food outlets.
“Convenience and diversity are major factors in why we chose this location.”
The new Huddersfield salon is equipped with 13 tanning beds and, over the coming months, the usage will be carefully tracked before Indigo Sun invests a further £50,000 in providing more of the most popular beds.
Frank added: “Part of the reason that dedicated tanning salons are growing in popularity is because of the cost and complexity of the equipment.
“Modern sunbeds now have features such as Bluetooth so that customers can connect their phones and play their own choice of music.
“They also have sophisticated aircon systems and sensitivity settings for specific skin types.
“On top of that our salons have more sunbeds installed to reduce waiting times and dedicated staff with an in-depth knowledge on the use of sunbeds.
“Put all of that in a convenient location where people may also be visiting a gym, a supermarket, a pharmacy or a food outlet and you can see why the ease of use means our typical customers are now spending £500 a year with us.”
Across the UK the firm, which is headquartered in Stirling, is targeting its expansion on towns or populations centres of at least 100,000 people.
In bigger cities, it will look to create clusters of salons, for more streamlined management.
As well as the new Huddersfield outlet it already operates two salons in Leeds with another outlet at Heslington in York, and a fifth salon in Doncaster set to open within months.
Last month Indigo Sun reported its best ever results, recording a turnover of more than £26m and almost £5.6m profit in its latest financial year.
