Salon Spotlight - Post-er Boy

Denver newspaper feature highlights tanning industry growth

DENVER (Monday, September 01, 2003) - Denverites know a booming industry when they see it, and with good reason. Over the span of the last 25 years, residents of the Mile High City have cashed in - and in some cases lost out - when segments of the economy, such as the oil, real estate and technology industries, expanded like a brush fire in the foothills on a windy July day.

So when a publication such as the Denver Post proclaims, in the words of journalist Dick Woodbury, that the tanning industry "is bursting afresh on the retail landscape", it's a good idea to take note.

The article exploring the growth of indoor tanning, which ran June 15, not only reached the nearly 800,000 readers who receive the Sunday Post, the edition ranks eighth nationally in circulation, but also generated always-welcomed positive publicity from a mainstream media outlet.

"This is a step in the right direction,"' said Wayne Smeal, president of Executive Tans, a Colorado based chain that boasts 87 outlets in a dozen states. "We've always had the negative commentary. It's bad this, or burn that, or cancer this or something."

Smeal, who reports that his company has tripled its units and watched total annual sales skyrocket from $1.2 million in 2000 to more than $10 million last year, says the piece serves the tanning industry on a number of levels. No only does the article offer an optimistic look at the current and future financial vitality of indoor tanning and lend legitimacy to it in an economic realm, but it also briefs readers on the industry's commitment to addressing health issues and employing well-trained, informed staffs and gives a morale boost to sector of economy that is more familiar with launching counter-arguments against negative press.

Dealing with the last issue was not a concern in this case, especially given an exchange Smeal had with Woodbury, a former Time magazine journalist, during one of their conversations in preparation for the story.

"He said to me, 'I haven't seen anything grow so quick,'" Smeal recalled. "And I, said, 'I'll be honest with you, the only thing I've seen grow so quick...is the Internet.' Other than the Internet, I don't think any industry is growing as fast as the indoor tanning industry is right now.",

Naturally, Smeal has been overwhelmed with feedback from the tanning industry and personal friends. But he's also received a number of inquiries from those outside the business whose interest was piqued by the Post feature. He's been contacted by staffers from Entrepreneur magazine and appeared on the publication's radio show. He's been approached by ESPN; the self-proclaimed "world-wide leader in sports" is interested in having Executive Tans involved in a promotion at its downtown Denver restaurant. And he recently addressed the Denver Kiwanis chapter, briefing the city's most influential business leaders on indoor tanning.

"Not only are people calling me about it, but we had to add another salesperson since this thing broke,"' Smeal said. "We've been overwhelmed by people interested in the tanning industry, wanting to know more about it."

The exponential growth of indoor tanning may be news to some, but Smeal saw it coming. Using the knowledge he's gained after spending 13 years in the industry, he estimates 7-10 percent of U.S. residents currently visit tanning salons as compared to 4-7 percent a couple of years ago. Still, Smeal says the industry has just scratched the surface, given that roughly 50-65 percent of Americans can tan.

"What that tells me is that there's a gigantic opportunity," Smeal explains. "Things have changed so much, so quick, especially in the last three or five years.

"It's a growing industry. Hopefully, I'll grow with it."

View all Executive Tans Press Releases

This article has been read 185 times.

Printer Friendly