Sport Clips Targeting Men

GEORGETOWN, TX-Many men have fond memories of the barber shop they frequented as boys, or even more recently than that, but no longer visit traditional barber shops because their numbers are dwindling nationwide. Sport Clips, a rapidly growing chain of haircutters, aims to capitalize on exactly that kind of that nostalgia, plus men’s love of sports.

“We’ve identified an underserved niche in the market, and we’re going to fill it,” Gordon B. Logan, president and CEO of Sport Clips Inc., franchisor of the concept, tells GSR. “The hair styling industry has moved toward serving ladies and families more than it used to, and the number of barber shops is down. That leaves men and boys as an underserved demographic.”

Slowly but surely the United States is losing its barbers, many of whom aren’t replaced as they retire or die, because people now training for hair-care jobs tend to gravitate toward beauty salons. According to a recent report on employment trends by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “slower than average growth is expected in employment of barbers due to a large number of retirements and the relatively small number of cosmetology school graduates opting to obtain barbering licenses.”