When: February 26, 2005
Where: Heartland Tan Systems, McDonough, GA
Who: Australian Gold, Inc., California Clothing, California Tan, Inc., Cosmedico Light, Inc., Designer Skin, Eye Pro, Inc., Fiji Blend, Norvell, Satori Sol, Smart Tan, Synergy Tan, Supre, Tan Inc., T-Max and Wolff System Technology Corp.

by John P. Ribner

On the heels of its successful Lee's Summit, MO symposium earlier this year, Heartland Tanning, Inc. hosted another event on February 26, 2005 at its McDonough, GA satellite headquarters. More than 150 tanning salon professionals showed up to Heartlands first symposium since its acquisition of Tan Systems.

Heartland's McDonough event offered salon pros much in the way of helping them be more successful - product education and salon operator certification - as well as a spring fashion show with models wearing Heartlands California Clothing spring line.

This was an excellent show! exclaimed Shannon Costello, owner of two Sun Sport Tanning salons in Conyers and Stockbridge, GA. We really learned a lot from all the product information and sales tips from all the manufacturers and we had a good time, too. This year, we were only able to bring one of our employees, but next year, I’d like to bring them all. While she certainly enjoyed all of the presentations, Shannon says she really appreciated the addition of representatives from Cosmedico Light, Inc. and Applied Digital to this years show. "I had a lot of questions about sunlamps and timers, and I was able to get a lot of useful information, she added.

Todd and Sandy Mitchell were very lucky at the Heartland show. The couple, who owns two Paradise Beach Tanning Resorts in Locust Grove and McDonough, GA, won a $2,000 gift certificate toward Heartland tanning equipment during a raffle held at the event. We were very surprised when they called our names, Sandy recalled. Were so happy to have won, and were already putting this prize to good use. We plan to purchase a Heartland Acclaim high-pressure bed for one of our locations - we already offer four levels of tanning and sunless, so with the addition of a high-pressure unit, well be able to truly offer everything.

The McDonough show concludes Heartland's symposium offerings for this year, but the distribution giant vows to have an even greater presence in 2006. "We are thrilled with the customer response to this seminar!" exclaimed Greg Henson, president of Heartland Tanning. "We anticipate this venue growing in size to match the success of our Missouri show, and we can’t wait until next year."

When: February 12-13, 2005
Where: Hilton, Atlanta, GA
Who: Australian Gold, Inc., California Tan, Inc., Designer Skin, Euroline, Eye Pro, Inc., Fiesta Sun, Fiji Blend, JK Capital, Mul-Ti Enterprises, Mystic Tan, Norvell, Supre.

by John P. Ribner

More than 300 salon professionals attend Forever Tan’s second annual Southeast Expo in Atlanta. “We recently acquired the Georgia and Florida distribution territories, so we felt that hosting a symposium here would be a great way to introduce salon pros in these states to our company,” commented Lynn Byrum, Forever Tan Product Sales Manager. “As a result, many salon pros got a good idea about who and what we are, as a company.” The show was also attended by several South Carolina salon pros who missed Forever Tan’s January 29-30 show in Charlotte due to an ice storm.

The purpose of Forever Tan’s symposium was to offer tanning product education, and with a host of the industry’s top manufacturers present, the Atlanta event’s attendees got plenty of it. They also benefited from additional sales and marketing presentations by two of the industry’s top speakers – Anthony Tesoriero and Chirs Mochinksi, both of JK North America. An added bonus was a cocktail reception sponsored by Designer Skin on the evening of the event’s first day – it was the perfect way for everyone to loosen up and have a good time.

“I attended this show last year and learned so much that I decided to come back this year and bring my wife and one of our employees with me,” said Jack Foley, who co-owns Suddenly Tan in Calhoun, GA with his wife, Tammy. “They picked up a lot of good product education and sales techniques, and I learned some new things, myself. It was a very valuable experience.” Education wasn’t the only thing the couple took home from the Forever Tan symposium. The Foleys were the lucky winners of an Ergoline Ambition 300 sunbed valued at $15,000. “For a start-up business such as ours, winning such a great sunbed gives us a huge leg up on our competition,” Jack commented. “The very next day we started showing our customers pictures of the bed out of the catalog, and almost everyone said something like, ‘I’ve definitely got to try that bed!’ It brought a smile to my face, too.”

Everyone at the Forever Tan show had the chance to “try it before they buy it” in both the sunbed and sunless spray tan categories. The distribution company wired up an Ergoline 850, and allowed interested attendees to tan in the unit. Also a big hit with the crowd was the free airbrush tans being administered by Cale Carver of Norvell. “This was a huge success!” Lynn Byrum exclaimed. “Cale is always so friendly and popular at these events, and it seemed like everyone was lining up to get a sunless tan and have a chance to talk with him.”

As successful as its Atlanta symposium was, Forever Tan has even bigger plans for next year’s event. “Rather than holding separate symposiums in North Carolina and Atlanta, we’re considering holding one, huge event in Atlanta next year,” Lynn said. “Either way, it will always be exciting!”

2ND ANNUAL LITTLE ROCK TRAINING SEMINAR

When: February 26, 2005
Where: Wyndham Riverfront Hotel, North Little Rock, AK
Who: Australian Gold, Inc., California Tan, Inc., Designer Skin, Eye Pro, Inc., Fiesta Sun, Fiji Blend, Norvell, Satori Sol, Supre, Tanzotic

Given the attendance at Salon Support, Inc.’s second annual Little Rock Training Seminar, it’s easy to see the Texas-based distribution company has solid support in Arkansas. “We had 120 attendees, which is the turnout we had last year,” said Jeremy Bleeker, Salon Support National Sales Manager. “Everyone seemed to really enjoy not only the new product information presented by all the manufacturer representatives, but also the sales and marketing tips they provided. Also, since the attendees came from all over the state, many were able to network with each other and share lots of great marketing and promotions ideas.”

Salon Support’s event focused on product education, as the day began with presentations by all the participating manufacturers. The mini-tradeshow format allowed attendees plenty of one-on-one time with the manufacturer reps, as well as a chance to sample the products. Steve Edwards of Norvell was very busy at his booth, providing many attendees with free sunless spray tans throughout the day.

Attending the Salon Support show was a huge help to Darren Newman, who opened Spa Tan & Videos in Hot Springs, AK in October 2004. “We were really able to learn a lot from all of the presenters because each of them offered a different approach to sales,” Darren commented. “As new salon owners, this is exactly the kind of information we need to continue to be successful, and we’re very thankful to Salon Support for hosting such a great show. We’ll definitely come back next year and bring more of our staff with us.”

Barbara Daggett, owner of Sun-Brite Tanning in Arkadelphia, AK, also enjoyed the Salon Support training. “It was excellent!” she exclaimed. “We had a great time at the show last year, but this year it was bigger and better. All of the presentations were very informative, especially the one by Eye Pro, Inc. After hearing what they had to say, we’re now twice as serious about making sure our clients are educated about the importance of eye protection, and we won’t let them tan without it.” Barbara said she also found the lotion-selling tips from the manufacturers very useful, and began implementing what she learned immediately after returning from the event.

Soon after its Little Rock seminar, the Salon Support staff geared up for another event, held on March 12 in Baton Rouge, LA. “We’re getting out to all the areas around us to offer those salon pros a great event with the product and sales education they need,” Jeremy Bleeker said.

9th Annual Training Seminar

When: January 29, 2005
Where: Holiday Inn, Strongsville, OH
Who: Australian Gold, Inc., Designer Skin, Eye Pro, Inc., Fiji Blend,
Mystic Tan, Soltron, Inc. and Supre.

Suntan Supply is happy to report that its Cleveland distributor symposium was a huge success! More than 200 salon professionals eager to get the latest in product information and sales and marketing techniques enjoyed manufacturer presentations and a mini tradeshow floor. The distribution company also allowed people to tan in Soltron Shark and Soltron Shout sunbeds, which were set up in rooms constructed with Sun Walls partitions, which the company also offers.

“We’ve hosted this annual training seminar for nine years, and each year we learn what the salon owners need to be trained on for the next year,” said Bill Gallagher, Suntan Supply President. “For example, we find ourselves training more and more on EFT programs, and next year we will dedicate a large portion of our show to this type of training, among others.”

Bob and Rose Snider, who own three Celebrity Tan locations in Cleveland, OH, say they truly enjoyed what Suntan Supply’s symposium had to offer. “This was our third time attending the event, and we learn something new each time,” Bob commented. “Not only was the information we got from the company representatives very helpful, but I picked up a lot of useful information from other salon owners who were willing to share their ideas with us. Next year, we’d like to bring our manager and as many of our employees as we can without having to close the salons.”

Dennis McCormick, owner of the Malibu Tan franchise based in Hillsdale, MI, was a first-timer at the Suntan Supply symposium. “This was our first time at the show, and we were very impressed,” he commented. “Suntan Supply did a very good job making sure everything operated smoothly. Bill and Marty Gallagher have always been fair with us, and we appreciated all their help.” McCormick, who attended the event with his wife Joyce and daughter, Melinda, purchased a Mystic Tan sunless spray unit at the show.

Elaine Mengle, owner of Sundaze Tanning Spa in Avon, OH, has a lot to say about the Suntan Supply event. “I enjoyed it so much that I ended up purchasing three tanning units!” she laughed. “Actually, we brought six of our employees to the event, and we all got a lot out of it. We’re definitely looking forward to attending next year.”

At the end of the day, Suntan Supply considered its symposium a huge success. The distribution company followed up its Strongsville show with a February 26 event in Pittsburgh that was equally successful. The company plans to make next year’s events bigger and better, and possibly feature celebrity keynote speakers. “This year’s show was a tremendous success, and we had several attendees thank us for the experience they had,” commented Bill Gallagher. “It’s great to see the salon owners come back each year; it essentially means we are providing them with a good experience. Next year will be better than the last, we promise!”