Great Clips
Great Clips is the world's largest hair salon brand, operating a 100% franchised network of 4,400+ salons across all 50 U.S. states and 4 Canadian provinces, serving roughly 1.7 million walk-in customers weekly with affordable, no-appointment haircuts for men, women, kids, and seniors.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1982
- HeadquartersMinneapolis, United States
- Headcount5,001–10,000
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What Great Clips does
Great Clips, Inc. is the world's largest hair salon brand and operates a 100% franchised business model with more than 4,400 salons across all 50 U.S. states and 4 Canadian provinces, serving approximately 1.7 million customers weekly and roughly 90 million haircuts annually. Founded in 1982 in Minneapolis, the company supports over 700 franchisees — 80% of whom are multi-unit owners averaging 5-6 salons after five years — and the network collectively employs nearly 30,000 stylists. Its primary customers are walk-in individuals and families (men, women, kids, and seniors) seeking affordable, no-appointment haircuts.
The company's technology platform is anchored by the Great Clips mobile app (20M+ downloads), the Online Check-In digital waitlist, Clip Notes (a cross-location haircut preference tracker that records style, length, and notes so any stylist can reproduce a customer's look), and ReadyNext SMS notifications that alert customers when their wait time is approximately 15 minutes. AI-powered scheduling tools analyze operational data to help franchisees forecast demand and improve stylist efficiency, with stated plans to expand AI features into consumer-facing applications through 2028. Great Clips also operates proprietary haircare product sub-brands (Solutions, Tea Tree Solutions, Latitude) sold in salons.
Revenue is generated through a one-time franchise fee of $25,000 ($20,000 franchise fee plus a $5,000 Market Development Advertising Fund contribution), a recurring 6% royalty on franchisee gross sales, MDAF marketing contributions, and the sale of proprietary haircare products. The company distributes exclusively through independently owned franchise salons with no corporate-owned locations, and supports demand generation via national sponsorships (NHL, NCAA March Madness, College Football Playoff), celebrity/athlete campaigns, the Great Deeds community program (Children's Miracle Network, Clips of Kindness, Wigs for Kids, CUT IT OUT), and local co-op marketing by franchisees.
Great Clips firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Great Clips
- Legal name
- Great Clips, Inc.
- Website
- https://greatclips.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1982
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 5,001–10,000 employees
- Short description
- Great Clips is the world's largest hair salon brand, operating a 100% franchised network of 4,400+ salons across all 50 U.S. states and 4 Canadian provinces, serving roughly 1.7 million walk-in customers weekly with affordable, no-appointment haircuts for men, women, kids, and seniors.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Great Clips industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Hair Salon Services
- NAICS
- Beauty Salons (812112), Barber Shops (812111), Cosmetics, Beauty Supplies, and Perfume Retailers (456120), Hair, Nail, and Skin Care Services (81211)
- SIC
- Perfumes, Cosmetics & Other Toilet Preparations (2844)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Classic Barbering (Cuts & Styling) (HSALABAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Kids' Haircut Services (HSALAAAM), Professional/Salon Haircare (Backbar & Retail) (CRABABAK), Professional Hair Care (Shampoo, Conditioner, Treatments) (CRABALAB)
Keywords
Where Great Clips is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Minneapolis
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Great Clips business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Others
Revenue model
- Franchise Fees: One-time franchise fee of $20,000 plus $5,000 contribution to Market Development Advertising Fund (MDAF) for a total of $25,000 per franchise agreement. Franchise term is 10 years.
- Royalty Fees: 6% royalty on gross sales from all franchisee salons, providing recurring revenue stream based on franchisee performance
- Market Development Advertising Fund: $5,000 MDAF contribution per franchise agreement, used for systemwide marketing and brand development
- Salon Product Sales: Sale of haircare products including solutions by Great Clips, Tea Tree Solutions by Great Clips, and Latitude by Great Clips product lines
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Standard Haircut |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels6 records
Great Clips product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Great Clips is a 100% franchised hair salon chain that delivers walk-in haircut services for men, women, kids, and seniors through 4,400+ independently owned salons in the U.S. and Canada. Its core consumer offering is fast, affordable, no-appointment haircuts, supported by the Great Clips mobile app, Online Check-In digital waitlist, Clip Notes preference tracking, and ReadyNext SMS notifications, along with proprietary branded haircare products sold in salons.
Product overview
Great Clips is a 100% franchised hair salon chain offering walk-in haircuts for the entire family. The company's product portfolio centers on core hair services (men's, women's, kids', and seniors' haircuts) supported by technology products including Online Check-In (digital waitlist management), Clip Notes (haircut preference tracking), the Great Clips mobile app, and ReadyNext text notifications. Great Clips also offers proprietary hair care products under sub-brands Tea Tree Solutions by Great Clips and Latitude by Great Clips, along with gift cards. The technology features work together as an integrated customer experience platform—the app serves as the hub for Online Check-In, Clip Notes access, and haircut reminders, while ReadyNext enhances the in-salon wait experience.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Haircut Services - Men
- Haircut Services - Women
- Haircut Services - Kids
- Haircut Services - Seniors
- Online Check-In
- Clip Notes
- Great Clips Mobile App
- ReadyNext
- Tea Tree Solutions by Great Clips
- Latitude by Great Clips
- Solutions by Great Clips
- Great Clips Gift Cards
- Great Clips Franchise Opportunity
Companies that use Great Clips
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Great Clips technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability2 records
Feature5 records
Great Clips partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.
- NHL (National Hockey League)flagshipGreat Clips is the Official Hair Salon of the NHL, NHLPA, and NHL Alumni Association. The partnership includes the Great Clips Power Play Sweepstakes during Stanley Cup Playoffs, Trade Bonus Card program for traded players, and extensive advertising across ESPN, TNT/TBS, Rogers Sportsnet, and NHL Network.
- NCAAflagshipGreat Clips is a sponsor of NCAA March Madness, featuring the Great Clips $12.99 haircut coupon campaign with legendary announcer Ian Eagle and breakout college basketball stars. Marketing runs across television and digital platforms during tournament coverage.
- College Football PlayoffcoreGreat Clips is an official sponsor of the College Football Playoff National Championship, featuring promotional campaigns with analysts and quarterbacks like Jesse Palmer and Kirk Cousins offering nationwide haircut coupons.
- Feld Entertainment / Monster JamminorGreat Clips partnered with Feld Entertainment to sponsor the Mohawk Warrior Monster Jam truck, renamed the Great Clips Mohawk Warrior for select markets. Partnership designed to reach young demographics through the Monster Jam community and touring events.
- Children's Miracle Network HospitalscoreGreat Clips salons participate in annual Miracle Balloon fundraising campaigns, having raised over $11 million for children's hospitals across the U.S. and Canada. Each October, participating salons sell balloons to benefit local CMN hospitals.
- Professional Beauty Association (CUT IT OUT)coreGreat Clips participates in CUT IT OUT, a program created by the Professional Beauty Association that provides training to salon professionals to help recognize warning signs of domestic violence and safely refer clients to resources.
- Wigs for KidscoreGreat Clips supports Wigs for Kids by providing free haircuts to donors at participating salons. The nonprofit creates hair pieces for children experiencing hair loss from medical conditions.
- Operation: Healing HeroesminorGreat Clips is a founding sponsor of Operation: Healing Heroes, a documentary series on Discovery Channel featuring veterans sharing their stories while enjoying fishing trips to help with PTSD recovery.
- Children's MinnesotaminorGreat Clips was a sponsor of the 34th annual Star Gala benefiting Children's Minnesota's mental health program, which provides care from outpatient psychology to inpatient treatment for children and families.
- Shaquille O'NealminorShaq-A-Claus charitable holiday initiative where Shaquille O'Neal distributes toys and essentials to schoolchildren, with Great Clips as a corporate partner for the Atlanta event.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves14 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Great Clips competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Hair Cuttery: Largest family-owned hair salon chain in the U.S. with walk-in services; directly comparable in service model and customer demographic.
- Fantastic Sams: Full-service walk-in hair salon franchise offering cuts, color, and styling; competes with Great Clips in the franchised value-segment of hair services.
- Sports Clips: Sports-themed men's and boys' hair salon franchise with walk-in appointments and a similar unit-level economics model; directly competes with Great Clips in the franchise haircut segment.
- Cost Cutters: Value-priced walk-in hair salon franchise owned by Regis Corporation; competes directly with Great Clips in the affordable haircut segment.
- Roosters Men's Grooming Center: Men's barbering and grooming franchise with walk-in services; overlaps with Great Clips' men's haircut segment and similar franchise-driven model.
- Supercuts: Walk-in hair salon franchise offering affordable haircuts nationwide; operates a similar value-priced, walk-in model that directly overlaps with Great Clips' core offering.
Broad incumbents
- Ulta Beauty: Large specialty beauty retailer offering haircare products and in-store salon services; broad incumbent whose retail product assortment overlaps with Great Clips' in-salon product sales.
- Regis Corporation: Public franchisor and operator of Supercuts, Cost Cutters, and other salon brands; broad incumbent competing across multiple price points with similar franchise-led economics.
Emerging players
- Madison Reed: Tech-enabled hair color brand operating a growing brick-and-mortar salon footprint; emerging player disrupting the salon category with a digitally native, direct-to-consumer model.
- Snip-its: Kids-focused hair salon franchise targeting the same family demographic Great Clips serves; competes specifically in the children's haircut segment where Great Clips has a major offering.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Great Clips social profiles
Digital presenceGreat Clips financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Great Clips leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles14 records
Great Clips funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Great Clips M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Great Clips
What does Great Clips do?
Great Clips is a 100% franchised hair salon chain that delivers walk-in haircut services for men, women, kids, and seniors through 4,400+ independently owned salons in the U.S. and Canada. Its core consumer offering is fast, affordable, no-appointment haircuts, supported by the Great Clips mobile app, Online Check-In digital waitlist, Clip Notes preference tracking, and ReadyNext SMS notifications, along with proprietary branded haircare products sold in salons.
Is Great Clips a public or private company?
Great Clips is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Great Clips founded?
Great Clips was founded in 1982. It employs 5,001 to 10,000 people.
Where is Great Clips based?
Great Clips is headquartered in Minneapolis, United States, in the North America region.
How does Great Clips make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Franchise Fees are the primary driver. The others are royalty Fees, market Development Advertising Fund and salon Product Sales.
Who are Great Clips's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Hair Cuttery, Fantastic Sams, Sports Clips, Cost Cutters, Roosters Men's Grooming Center and Supercuts. Broad incumbents are Ulta Beauty and Regis Corporation. Emerging players are Madison Reed and Snip-its.
Does Great Clips have an API?
No public API is recorded for Great Clips.
What industry is Great Clips in?
Great Clips's product category is Hair Salon Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HSALABAA, Classic Barbering (Cuts & Styling), with a secondary code of HSALAAAM, Kids' Haircut Services. Its NAICS code is 812112 and its SIC code is 2844.