Source: Aveda Flickr

Mike and Tracey Franklin have owned Loxx Salon and Spa in Cookeville, Tennessee for six years.

In 2017, they moved to a new location, and in 2018, they took on Aveda as their primary hair care line.

“Our intro package with Aveda was just hair—color, retail, etc.,” Tracey says. “But within the year, we transitioned to skincare and makeup, and we’re now a Concept Salon.”

As a result of the move to a bigger space and becoming a Concept Salon, Loxx revenues increased 44.8 percent—from $615k to $891k—in 2018 over 2017.

Jauna French, owner of Heath Hair Salon and Spa in Heath, Texas started carrying Aveda in February 2019 to cater to her clients’ desire for natural, organic products.

“I’ve always loved the Aveda brand and culture,” French says, “but I was hesitant to bring on another brand. However, we live in a world where people are really thinking about what they are putting on and in their bodies. Aveda is a perfect fit with the naturally derived and vegan products we already carry, and I love the way they service their salons with education.”

Source: Heath Hair Salon and Spa Facebook

In 2018, French’s average retail ticket was $28. A year later, with Aveda, it was $30.55.

“The Thickening Tonic is our best seller, followed by Shampure Dry Shampoo and the Cherry Almond Shampoo and Conditioner,” she says.

More Education = More Growth

But French says her retail numbers are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to her salon’s transformation. The education that the salon team has received has taken her customer service to a new level.

Source: Heath Hair Salon and Spa Instagram

“We’ve always been pampering to our clients, but the Aveda Rituals gave us clear direction on what to do with the essential oils, hand massages, chakras, etc.”

The Franklins initially began considering new lines for the salon due to a desire for more education.

“We switched to another brand that was new to our area, in hopes of more education and support, which I felt a greater need for as I grew my business,” Tracey says. “But it still wasn’t exactly what we were looking for.”

Source: Aveda Flickr

Not sure of her next move, Tracey hadn’t made any steps to reach out to another brand when she was visited by an Aveda rep.

“She had visited our old location, and then came back again when we moved,” Tracey says. “She was looking for a place to refer students from the Aveda Institute to, and most of my recruitment is through schools.”

So Tracey attended some classes as well as Serious Business.

“I started seeing the many education opportunities through Aveda, and all the support,” she says.

At first, the Franklins were just going to take on retail. The plan was to slowly phase out their current product line, as they had before when they changed lines.

Tracey was particularly concerned about color, as her stylists and guests were attached to the current brand.

“We kept some just in case, but when Aveda’s Demi Plus line came out, we learned it together and converted whole-heartedly,” Tracey says.

“Our package came with quite a bit of free in-house education, so we learned the Aveda color line right in the salon,” she adds. “Now we’ve also attended many other classes at the Institute and other places, including getting education on makeup and skin care.”

Retail on the Rise

Loxx was already in a good place financially before Aveda, but bringing it on in an underrepresented market has rocketed their growth.

With its previous line, Loxx averaged $3,750 in retail dollars monthly with an average retail ticket of $11.47. With Aveda, they average $5,090 in retail monthly, with an average retail-per-client ticket of $12.59.

Loxx is also seeing more walk-in traffic for retail.

“Based on conversations with our front desk, we have 7 to 10 people per week coming in just for Aveda products, where we only had a couple before the changeover from the previous line,” Mike says.

Becoming Aveda was more than just bringing on new products though. The Loxx staff trained in rituals, as well.

Source: Aveda Instagram

“We already had a couple of our own rituals, so we just added an Aveda spin with aromas and oils,” she says. “We also added the hand and arm massage with color services. And we added makeup services and a lavender and rose soak before spa services.”

At Heath, French regularly recruits students from the Aveda Institute. Naturally, they love using Aveda products. But she has found her veteran stylists who have been accustomed to other lines are also enjoying the Aveda line.

“Clients purchasing two or three items versus just one has helped my six-figure stylists find a new growth path.”

Service Dollars Get a Boost, Too

The average ticket at Heath went up from $88.51 in 2018 to $92 in 2019 (this includes service and retail). And French says she anticipates more growth as they’ve barely scratched the surface of what Aveda offers.

“We just got our holiday order in,” she says. “And we can’t wait to offer it to our clients.”

And with the education from Aveda and Neill, there’s even more potential for growth in the coming months.

“Our regional person from Neill is amazing—they go above and beyond to take care of us,” French says.

Service dollars have also improved at Loxx. Due to moving to a bigger location, changing over to Aveda, and hiring additional service providers, they have increased 48.14 percent.

“Initially, we carried some clothing and accessories as well,” Mike says. “And though it wasn’t as profitable as we had hoped, it added to our curb appeal and attracted customers that might not have come in otherwise. We took the opportunity to talk to them about services and saw an increase in clients from it.”

Mike says they also expanded their service menu to include microblading and dermaplaning and opted to discontinue massage therapy in order to put in an additional esthetics room.

“Skincare has been more desirable to guests and profitable for us,” he says.

Loxx has also been more involved in the community in the past few years to keep it in the public eye.

Mike adds, “We maintain a good reputation, advertise more than other salons in the area, and always look for ways to provide more value to the clients to keep us moving in the right direction.”