The Sport Clips Franchise Story

How Sport Clips became one of the highest regarded franchise systems in the nation

In the early nineties, men had very few options to get their hair cut. Neighborhood barber shops were vanishing, and there wasn’t a national brand that catered specifically to men and boys haircuts. In fact, men were invisible to the majority of the industry, and going after a male customer base was considered a waste of time.

Where the majority of the industry didn’t see anything at all, Gordon Logan saw a big opportunity.

Gordon founded Sport Clips in 1993 – opening a prototype store in Austin, Texas. As an industry veteran who had been in the salon industry for decades, Gordon knew that by focusing only on men and boys haircuts, he could capitalize on what was a tremendously underserved niche.

“I’ve been in this industry since 1979,” Gordon says. “In the early 90’s, I found that no one was going after the men & boys’ market and I like going into a niche where no one else is playing. We felt like there was a real opportunity if we created a concept tailored strictly to men and boys, created an atmosphere where they would feel comfortable, and then trained our stylists on how to execute men’s haircuts. It turns out, we were right. It’s been more than 30 years and we’re just getting started.”

A bright idea turned into years of sustained and strategic growth

What started as one location in Austin, Texas, quickly blossomed into a national brand. Sport Clips began franchising in 1995, and very soon, their first franchise store opened in Houston, Texas.

In five years, Sport Clips grew to 50 locations, and just two years later, Sport Clips celebrated the opening of their 100th store. By 2010, Sport Clips had 750 locations, and six years later, the brand doubled in size when it opened its 1,500th location.

In 2022, Sport Clips is quickly approaching 1,900 stores open across North America. While this may seem like explosive growth – in fact, Sport Clips has been extremely strategic about our growth strategy. We only grow where we can support new stores, and we only grow with entrepreneurs who share our values.

It’s our commitment to our values that Gordon credits as the driving force behind all of our success.

“This business is built on core values: do the right thing, do your best, and treat people the way they want to be treated,” Gordon says. “That’s how we’ve run our business from day one, and I think it’s the right way to run a business because it helps you recruit and retain the best people. Franchising has really been wonderful for Sport Clips. One of my favorite sayings is by Zig Zigler, who said, ‘You can have everything you want, if you help others get what they want.’ To me, that’s what franchising is about. It’s all built on helping people be successful, giving them the tools they need to be successful and making sure they know that we care about them.”

A bright future for a worthy brand

After 30+ years in business, over $5 billion in cumulative hair cut sales and a long, proven track record of helping entrepreneurs thrive, Sport Clips is just getting started.

In July of 2020, Sport Clips named Edward Logan as the new CEO. Edward is uniquely qualified to be at the helm of such an iconic brand. He began his career with Sport Clips managing a single store. After proving himself by taking on more and more stores, Edward eventually became the manager of all the Sport Clips company-owned stores.

Edward’s leadership and vision guided Sport Clips through the pandemic. Not only did we continue to open stores, we continued to make investments to help Team Leaders be successful. Most importantly, we lead by example and take care of our people.

“It was our goal to come out of the pandemic stronger than we were before,” Edward says. “We aligned around core guiding principles. Now, our relationships are stronger than ever. We’re in an advantageous position because while other brands are barely above water, we’re sailing because we chose to be aggressive and forward thinking, without wavering from our values.”

With a strong culture, a fantastic franchise network, and commitment to innovative and forward thinking, Edward is excited about the future of Sport Clips.

“There’s no question that the future of Sport Clips is very bright,” Edward says. “Being a private company, we’re in a position where we can do things because they’re the right things to do. We know treating people right has the best ROI. And even if it didn’t, that’s the way we want to do business.”

Ready to learn more about the Sport Clips franchise opportunity?

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