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SUNBED HOME HIRE - MARKET OVERVIEW
Domestic Sunbed Hire is a well established business which has grown
in popularity over the last 20 years. To most people a suntan is
perceived as a sign of health, fitness and beauty and is an important
factor in today's modern lifestyles. Many people choose to
hire a sunbed in the safety and comfort of their own home in order
to achieve their required suntan. Hiring a sunbed at home is far
more convenient for most people as the sunbed is only required
for the desired period of usually 4-6 weeks. Sunbed hire is a clean,
respectable business and the customers are mainly ladies aged between
18 - 35 and are very pleasant to deal with.
Hours of work are very flexible, and can easily be organised to
suit an individual operator. A typical small hire company with
around 50 sunbeds can be managed by working just 15 hours per week.
A business of that size should generate in excess of £50,000
profit per year. This size of operation can be run on either a
full time basis, or as a second income, working evenings and weekends.
Large gaps in the sunbed home hire market have recently been created
by two important factors:-
In recent times, the demand has moved away from the traditional
100watt half hour sunbeds towards the new modern, high powered
beds with session times of only 6 minutes. Many existing Sunbed
Hire Businesses have failed to reinvest over the years and consequently
their equipment is now becoming outdated with very poor demand.
Even advertising their old equipment at very low prices is having
no effect as the modern sunbed user knows exactly what they want
and are prepared to pay the appropriate price. Due to this change
in modern tanning, large gaps in the market are being created nationwide,
even in areas which seem to have several companies operating already.
New legislation (in force 1/12/04) requires all sunbeds to be fitted
with a 10% failsafe device and full safety guards over the tubes.
Many established sunbed hire companies have large fleets of sunbeds,
however, the equipment is dated and very few of them meet the new
legal requirements. In many instances, some of the existing owners
who have had up to 20 years of successful and profitable trading
are seeing this as a chance to take early retirement or pursue
other interests. Of course there are some other businesses which
are re-investing and upgrading by buying new equipment, but there
is a massive potential gap for new companies to set up.
Once a Sunbed Home Hire Business is established the day to day
work involves a mixture of physical lifting, to pick up or deliver
the sunbeds to each house and conversing with customers both over
the phone and in their homes. The demand peaks between February
and August as spring and summer are the most popular time's
people want to have a suntan. There is also a large demand for
sunbed hire during the 4-6 week period prior to people going on
holidays, which is now a more all year round trend. With a modest
hire fleet of around 50 modern sunbeds, it is easy to keep all
sunbeds out on hire all year round. The major limiting factor on
your revenue is the number of beds you can afford to purchase for
hire, as the demand tends to totally outstrip supply. The income
generated can be used to purchase more sunbeds allowing the business
to grow quickly.
Most Sunbed Hire Businesses are run from home, using either an
estate car or a small van to do the deliveries. This keeps the
overheads very low and a small amount of marketing via advertising,
'word of mouth' and promotions will ensure a constant stream
of customers.
It is essential that anyone entering into the Sunbed Home Hire
Business has the backing of a good manufacturer who produces quality
sunbeds specifically designed to suit the rigors of hire. Expert
guidance and free advice are important to help you maximise your
profits and avoid any pitfalls.
The retail value of ex-hire sunbeds is often greater than the replacement
cost to your company, so it is good practice to constantly sell
ex-hire sunbeds to the public. This generates profit and helps
to increase your companies profile as well as the popularity of
sunbeds in your area. The friends and family of the person who
buys a sunbed will want to know where they got it from and this
can lead to other sales and new hire customers. Other areas of
expansion include tubes sales, service and the commercial sunbed
market.
It is very easy to establish a new Sunbed Home Hire Business without
making a large financial commitment, however with the right business
strategy it can become a very successful and highly profitable
business in a short period of time.
For further information there is a book published "How
To Run A Successful Sunbed Hire Business" available
from Leisure Time Sunbeds Ltd. Tel - 01302 364067.
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