Opening a Sunbed shop

[Stephen Storey]

Hi Guys,

The town i live in used to have 3 busy sunbed shops, now all have closed for different reasons.

So the town could definitely do a sunbed shop, since these 3 closed the nearest shop is a 4 mile drive and i was speaking to the owner of that an he says some days they have upto 160 customers through the door.

I now have been offered the premises of one of the original 3 sunbed shops in my town, it is already partitioned into 3 separate rooms, and has a nice reception area, kitchen and toilet. The premises would need to be re-decorated and i would have to purchase 3 sunbeds then it would be good to go.

Just reaching out to anyone that owns / has owned sunbed shops and interested to hear peoples views / thoughts or any advice at all that people maybe have…

A few questions i have -
Will the electricity bill be through the roof due to powering the sunbeds?
Is there much health and safety regarding the beds? And do they need a specific servicing schedule followed or is that upto the owner?
And obviously the most important one - How profitable can it be?

Any help or advice is always greatly appreciated .

Thank you guys

 

[Picture Bute]

Sunbed shops are for laundering illegal income of various types. Nothing else.

 

[WaveJumper]

I wouldn't for one minute believe the figures he's telling you and there's a very good reason for three failed business's in your own town, it don't pay.

 

[wayzgoose]

Do like we did 20 years ago before we opened a shop. Park up your car for the day and watch the people - or lack of them.

 

[Picture Bute]

Do like we did 20 years ago before we opened a shop. Park up your car for the day and watch the people - or lack of them.

Exactly this. You'll see two people going in and out in the day and the books and the till will show twenty.

 

[Frank the Insurance guy]

Is there much health and safety regarding the beds? And do they need a specific servicing schedule followed or is that upto the owner?

You really need to look into this as a priority. Sunbeds can be very dangerous and you will need to have full Risk Assessments carried out and procedures in place, which you must follow. If you do something wrong the consequences can be very serious and harmful.

My advice is that if you have no experience in working in this type of business, then walk away!

A couple of links you may find useful:
https://assets.publishing.service.g...ads/attachment_data/file/216374/dh_125983.pdf
https://assets.publishing.service.g...ads/attachment_data/file/216373/dh_125982.pdf
https://www.nhs.uk/common-health-questions/lifestyle/are-sunbeds-safe/
https://www.hse.gov.uk/radiation/nonionising/sunbeds.htm

 

[mattk]

he says some days they have upto 160 customers through the door.

You are focusing on the 160 I'm focusing on the "some days".

What's the average number of customers and what's the average spend per customer?

 

[AllUpHere]

It's got to be in decline. Who on earth is stupid enough to use a sun bed these days?

 

[Paul Norman]

I think this is a sector in decline. As mentioned above, go and camp outside a couple of sunbed shops and check the traffic flow.

I don't know about the electricity usage. It is not going to be small, though, and neither is the equipment going to be cheap.

Locally, we have no sunbed shops. There used to be a couple. No one is showing any interest in restarting them. I think at least the shop needs to offer more than just a sunbed - other beauty treatments, for example.

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

My gut feel is 3 gone already - alarm bells.

Ignore what the previous owner said.

Create a simple spreadsheet listing all of your costs (I mean all). You can then calculate how many sessions you need to book a day to cover your costs. You can then work out what is achievable.

 

[UKSBD]

You really need to look into this as a priority. Sunbeds can be very dangerous and you will need to have full Risk Assessments carried out and procedures in place, which you must follow. If you do something wrong the consequences can be very serious and harmful.

Whenever I see a sunbed I think of Final Destination

 

[Picture Bute]

My gut feel is 3 gone already - alarm bells.

Ignore what the previous owner said.

Create a simple spreadsheet listing all of your costs (I mean all). You can then calculate how many sessions you need to book a day to cover your costs. You can then work out what is achievable.

It means the money laundering has been moved to car washes instead.

 

[fisicx]

It means the money laundering has been moved to car washes instead.

Not around here. They’ve all been closed down.

A new game is dumping rubble on your drive then acting as a ‘witness’ and offering to get it shifted for £50.