Scottish tanning chain Indigo Sun plotting further growth after record numbers

Founder and chief executive Frank Taylor, who runs the business with wife Sadie and their son Ewan, said: “In 2022 we saw full freedom from Covid closures. As the economy reopened, our customers were determined to get back to normal and to go on holiday with great enthusiasm. That was a clear signal for our customers to return to our salons. They did so in such numbers that during peak periods in 2022 we were serving 140,000 people a week. While those lockdown months were extremely tough, we used that time to look ahead. We set out plans to expand by ten salons a year once business resumed.”

As well as opening new salons, the group has embarked on a refitting and refurbishment programme, bringing a new and upmarket “beach club aesthetic” to its salons, which is said to have proved a major hit with customers. Between February 2020 and September 2022, Indigo Sun opened 14 salons and refurbished another ten, with each refit costing an average £350,000. Of those 24 salons, 15 are in England and nine in Scotland. It means the firm now operates almost 100 tanning venues across the UK, employing more than 800 people. Indigo Sun customers spend an average of £500 on tanning per year, the firm noted.

Taylor added: “We have found the perfect niche for our salons. These locations are very much about convenience. Customers drive in and can see the full retail offering in front of them, be it a supermarket, a coffee shop or a pharmacy. They may spend as little as 30 minutes in these retail centres - including a sunbed session - and then head on their way. That is perfect for what they need and want.”

The group’s continued expansion will see it focus on towns or population centres with around 100,000 people. In bigger cities, it will look to create clusters of salons, for more streamlined management. Serial entrepreneur Taylor set up the business after running a successful chain of video rental stores. Early on he spotted the threat posed by DVDs and online streaming, so exited the business and transformed his shops into tanning salons instead. The first was launched in Stirling, in 1993.

The firm has positioned itself as a tenant for commercial landlords and property managers operating retail outlets on major arterial routes inside towns and cities. Typically, those are anchored by smaller supermarkets operated by the likes of Aldi, Tesco, Asda or M&S, with other outlets on the site including popular coffee shops such as Costa, pharmacies like Boots and fast-food outlets including the likes of KFC and Greggs.