GLO Tanning franchise unit economics
GLO Tanning franchisees run a 1,500 to 5,000 square foot salon with 15 to 25 tanning beds, sold on monthly memberships. 84 franchised salons that traded during 2025 averaged $693,963 of gross sales against $799,399 at the 18 company salons. The company salons finished ahead in every quartile. The build runs $759,200 to $1,448,000, so opening costs between one and two years of an average salon's sales.
- Primary source
- GLO Tanning Franchise, LLC, 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document
- Items read
- Items 5 and 6 for fees; Item 7 for cost to open; Item 19 for sales and any profit figure; Item 20 for the location count
- Population
- 84 of 84 locations
- Our calculations
- Marked on the page with an asterisk. Method
- Last reviewed
- 26 September 2026
Disclosure-based. Not a forecast, not an offer to sell a franchise, and not advice.
The company-owned salons finish ahead of the franchised ones in every single quartile, and the gap widens as you go down the table: 6.3% at the top and 18.7% at the bottom. In dollars that runs $60,869 to $106,808 a salon. Everything else here is unusually tight. The whole system differs 3.35 times over from best to worst, and franchise fees run between 9.92% and 10.30% of sales wherever you sit.
- Company salons beat franchised salons by 6.3% at the top quartile and 18.7% at the bottom. $1,029,114 against $968,245, and $601,215 against $506,310. The gap widens the weaker the quarter.
- Franchise fees cost 9.92% of sales at the top quartile and 10.30% at the bottom. A 0.38 point range, because only $4,044 a year is flat.
- A tanning bed costs about $20,000 and earns $20,252 to $64,550 a year. Equipment of $315,000 to $500,000 buys 15 to 25 beds; a bottom-quarter salon with 25 earns the least per bed in the system.
- Building costs swings from $18,000 to $275,000 a year. 1,500 to 5,000 square feet at $12 to $55 a foot, 1.9% of top-quarter sales at one end and 54.3% of bottom-quarter sales at the other.
- 13 open salons left the system on 31 January 2026, 15.5% of the 84. A Maryland Consent Order rescinded 15 units sold to one buyer, taking the franchised base to 71.
How much does a GLO Tanning franchise make?
The average GLO Tanning unit reported $693,963 of revenue in the 2026 FDD. The brand’s disclosure document discloses revenue and not profit, so what an owner keeps depends on the cost structure set out below. Fees come off the top first, at about 9.5% of sales across royalty, brand fund and the rest of the stack. Revenue is not income. Rent, wages, cost of goods and the franchise fees all come out before an owner is paid. The figures for the highest-selling and lowest-selling businesses are below.
Sales, best to worst
84 franchised salons against 18 company salons, quartile by quartile.
| quartile | Salons | Average gross sales | Median | Highest / lowest | Met or beat the average | Company average | Company advantage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| quartile 1 | 21 | $968,245.16 | $886,520.45 | $1,491,940.23 / $805,411.38 | 8 / 38% | $1,029,114.20 | +$60,869 · +6.3% |
| quartile 2 | 21 | $702,684.50 | $696,442.80 | $805,405.10 / $628,520.15 | 10 / 47% | $803,412.15 | +$100,728 · +14.3% |
| quartile 3 | 21 | $598,612.44 | $595,330.15 | $628,510.00 / $565,215.40 | 10 / 47% | $705,420.30 | +$106,808 · +17.8% |
| quartile 4 | 21 | $506,310.25 | $502,115.60 | $565,200.10 / $445,112.50 | 9 / 43% | $601,215.40 | +$94,905 · +18.7% |
| All salons | 84 | $693,963.09 | n/a | $1,491,940.23 / $445,112.50 | n/a | $799,398.59 | +$105,436 · +15.2% |
Averages, highs, lows and counts are as the brand reported it for both groups.
Closing the company gap across the franchised base is worth $7,629,504 a year. $90,827 a salon on average, and the lowest-selling quartiles have the most to collect, $106,808 in quartile 3 and $94,905 in quartile 4 against $60,869 at the top. Company salons pay the same royalty and the same marketing fund on the same terms, so the difference sits in how the salon is run.
The whole system differs 3.35 times over, from $445,112.50 to $1,491,940.23. That is tight for a franchise system, most brands this size run seven to twenty times between their best and worst unit. It says the model produces a predictable result and that site selection and operating skill move sales within a group.
quartiles 2, 3 and 4 each span under $177,000; quartile 1 covers $686,529. $176,885, $63,295 and $120,088 against four times the widest of them. So three quarters of this system sits inside a narrow corridor and the entire upside lives in the top quartile. That is where one salon reaches $1,491,940, 54% above its own quartile average.
Only 38% of the top quartile beats its own average. 8 salons of 21, against 47%, 47% and 43% below. That single runaway salon pulls the quartile 1 average $81,725 above its own median. So the honest benchmark for a strong salon is the $886,520 median against the $968,245 average.
Top performers
What separates the top GLO Tanning performers
GLO Tanning splits its locations into groups instead of publishing one average. The best group averaged $968,245 a year. The worst averaged $506,310. Both run the same brand, on the same agreement, paying the same fees.
Decided before you open
- Trade area and site.A 1.9× gap between bands is not an operating gap. Catchment, daytime population and what sits next door set the ceiling before the first customer arrives.
- Capacity, fixed at build.Locations run 1,500 to 5,000 square feet. What you can sell is set by the build, and the build does not change after opening.
- What you spend to open.Opening costs $759,200 to $1,448,000, a 1.9× range inside one brand. The high end usually buys more capacity, so the cheapest build is not always the cheapest route to the top band.
Live operating levers
- Members, the operating driver.This model bills on members. The owner watches how many people join, how many cancel, and what a member spends beyond the plan. It is worth watching every week, because by the time it turns up in a monthly close the quarter is half gone.
- Fees, and where the minimum bites.Fees run about 9.5% of sales. A minimum sits underneath the percentage, so the low-volume location pays the higher effective rate. The brand charges the weakest locations the most. Work out the sales level where the percentage overtakes the minimum and know which side of it you are on, because the answer changes what an extra dollar of sales is worth.
Context you underwrite around
- The reporting screen.84 of 84 locations are behind these figures. Locations open less than the full year, brand-owned, or not meeting the reporting criteria are excluded, as are locations under the brand’s current size standard, so the numbers describe locations that cleared that screen, not the system as a whole.
- What the disclosure leaves out.Item 19 publishes no profit or cost data for franchised locations, no median, no attainment figure. The brand’s own locations are the only margin signal in the document, and they are run by the people who wrote the playbook.
Fees and what it costs to open
What the fees come to, by where you sit.
| quartile | Gross sales | Royalty at 6.5% | Marketing and tech fund at 3% | Flat monthly fees | Total | Share of sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| quartile 1 | $968,245 | $62,936 | $29,047 | $4,044 | $96,027 | 9.92% |
| quartile 2 | $702,685 | $45,674 | $21,081 | $4,044 | $70,799 | 10.08% |
| All franchised salons | $693,963 | $45,108 | $20,819 | $4,044 | $69,970 | 10.08% |
| quartile 3 | $598,612 | $38,910 | $17,958 | $4,044 | $60,912 | 10.18% |
| quartile 4 | $506,310 | $32,910 | $15,189 | $4,044 | $52,143 | 10.30% |
Ours, built from the filed rates: a 6.5% royalty and a 3% marketing and technology fund fee, both payable monthly by the tenth of the following month. A $250 monthly software and license support fee, a $75 monthly email and text blast fee and a $12 monthly GLO email address charge, $337 a month, $4,044 a year.
Franchise fees are the same wherever you sit: 9.92% at the top and 10.30% at the bottom. A 0.38 point range, where most franchise systems run five to ten points wide between their highest-selling and lowest-selling units. The reason is that $4,044 is the entire flat annual charge, almost everything scales with sales. For an owner that means margin pressure at low volume comes from rent and wages.
Two dormant fees would add $2,400 a year if switched on. A technology fee capped at $150 a month and an outbound calls and surveys fee the franchisor currently pays at $50 a month per salon, both disclosed at $0 today with the right to charge. On top, fees may rise with CPI cumulatively, and any fee attributable to a third-party charge may rise by whatever that third party charges. Budget the brand at closer to 10.6% than 10.1% over a full term.
Early termination is the greater of $50,000 or 24 months of average royalty. At the all-salon average that is $90,216 of royalty over two years. So the formula bites well above the minimum for any salon past quartile 4. Leaving has a further $1,000 a day de-identification charge for each day past the deadline. The franchisor may debit up to $25,000 in advance against post-termination costs, refundable within 30 days of completion.
Opening a salon.
| Item | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $45,000 | $45,000 |
| Initial training | $2,700 | $4,500 |
| Opening training and assistance | $0 | $7,000 |
| Real estate improvements | $258,000 | $565,000 |
| Rent, three months plus deposit | $6,000 | $92,000 |
| Architect and engineering | $5,000 | $15,000 |
| Equipment, furniture, fixtures, décor, supplies | $315,000 | $500,000 |
| POS, computer hardware and software | $16,000 | $30,000 |
| Music system | $0 | $1,500 |
| Signs | $6,000 | $20,000 |
| Miscellaneous opening costs | $500 | $2,500 |
| Professional fees | $500 | $5,000 |
| Insurance premiums | $6,000 | $13,000 |
| Opening inventory | $7,500 | $12,500 |
| Grand opening advertising | $50,000 | $50,000 |
| Additional funds, first three months | $41,000 | $85,000 |
| Total | $759,200 | $1,448,000 |
As the brand reported it.
The build costs 1.09 to 2.09 times a year of average sales. $759,200 to $1,448,000 against an average franchised salon billing $693,963. Equipment and real estate improvements alone are $573,000 to $1,065,000 of it, 75% at the low end and 74% at the high. This is a capital business wearing a service business's coat, and the payback arithmetic starts from a much deeper hole than a typical wellness franchise.
$95,000 reaches the franchisor before the doors open. A $45,000 franchise fee plus a $50,000 grand opening advertising payment, both lump sum and both non-refundable. Add up to $7,000 of optional opening assistance. Against that, salons opening after September 2025 pay an uniform fee where the franchisor discounted or waived fees for many earlier franchisees. So the cost of entry has risen for the current group relative to the salons in the sales table above.
Failing to open inside 12 months costs $10,000 a month for up to 24 months. Charged at the franchisor's discretion in place of termination. Against a build that needs an architect, a landlord, permits and a $315,000 equipment order, that timing is why the working capital line matters as much as the construction line.
Beds and what it costs to open
What a tanning bed earns.
| quartile | Average gross sales | 15 beds | 20 beds | 25 beds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| quartile 1 | $968,245 | $64,550 | $48,412 | $38,730 |
| quartile 2 | $702,685 | $46,846 | $35,134 | $28,107 |
| quartile 3 | $598,612 | $39,907 | $29,931 | $23,944 |
| quartile 4 | $506,310 | $33,754 | $25,316 | $20,252 |
| All franchised salons | $693,963 | $46,264 | $34,698 | $27,759 |
Ours throughout, dividing each filed quartile average by a bed count.
A bed costs roughly $20,000 to $21,000 and has to earn its keep on membership volume alone. $315,000 across 15 beds is $21,000 apiece; $500,000 across 25 is $20,000. So the equipment cost per bed holds steady while the sales per bed collapses from $64,550 to $20,252 depending on where the salon lands and how many beds it installed. The 25th bed in a quartile 4 salon is the worst asset in this system.
Bed count is the decision that outlives the lease. A quartile 3 salon at $598,612 earns $39,907 a bed on fifteen and $23,944 on twenty-five. The extra ten beds cost $200,000 or so and add square footage that costs rent for the whole term. Sizing the room to the market.
The space decision.
| Scenario | Square feet | Rate a square foot | Annual rent | Share of quartile 1 sales | Share of quartile 4 sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smallest and cheapest | 1,500 | $12 | $18,000 | 1.9% | 3.6% |
| Midpoint | 3,250 | $33.50 | $108,875 | 11.2% | 21.5% |
| Largest and dearest | 5,000 | $55 | $275,000 | 28.4% | 54.3% |
Ours, built from the filed estimate of 1,500 to 5,000 square feet at $12 to $55 a square foot a year.
Building costs can be 2.6% of sales or 39.6% at the same average salon. $18,000 against $275,000 on sales of $693,963, a 15.3 times swing, the widest single range anywhere in this system and far wider than the 3.35 times range on sales itself. At the bottom quartile a 5,000 square foot box at $55 a foot takes 54.3% of the top line. Square footage and rate are the two numbers to settle before anything else in the deal.
Every extra 1,000 square feet costs $12,000 to $55,000 a year for the length of the lease. At the midpoint rate of $33.50 it is $33,500. To have that at a quarter 3 salon's economics, the extra space has to produce roughly 5.6% more sales in perpetuity. Beds and floor space both scale up easily and scale back down only at renewal.
The network of locations
The network of locations.
| Year | Franchised start | Opened | Terminations | Franchised end | Company end | Total end |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 32 | 9 | 0 | 41 | 21 | 62 |
| 2024 | 41 | 26 | 0 | 67 | 16 | 83 |
| 2025 | 67 | 17 | 0 | 84 | 18 | 102 |
As the brand reported it.
13 open salons left on 31 January 2026, taking the franchised base from 84 to 71. On 22 December 2025 the franchisor entered a Consent Order with the Securities Commission of Maryland over selling 15 franchises to one individual in Maryland before registering there, agreeing to offer rescission, register in the state and pay a $15,000 penalty. The buyer accepted rescission on all 15 units (8 in Maryland, 3 in Delaware, 1 in New Jersey and 3 in Pennsylvania) of which 13 were open salons in Delaware, Maryland and Pennsylvania.
One buyer held 15 units, roughly 18% of the franchised system. Worth holding alongside a table showing zero terminations in three years. The stability in that table and the concentration behind it are the same fact seen twice. The three states affected each appear in the 2024 opening surge, which ran 26 openings against 9 the year before and 17 the year after.
104 signed agreements sit unopened against 84 open salons. A pipeline 124% the size of the operating base, with Texas at 18, Utah at 16 and Florida at 13. The franchisor projects 75 new franchised openings in the coming year against 17 actually opened in 2025, 4.4 times the most recent year's delivery.
What territory you get.
You receive an exclusive territory, usually two miles in every direction. Inside it the franchisor will refrain from establishing another franchised, affiliate or company salon under the marks for as long as you stay in strict compliance. Size is set on population density, the business base, and whether the site is metropolitan or rural. A salon inside a shopping mall may have its territory limited to the mall itself.
Zero minimum sales volume or market penetration is attached to keeping it. Other franchisees may advertise inside your territory and you may advertise inside theirs, and you may serve customers only at your own premises. The franchisor keeps every distribution channel (internet, apps, television, radio, social, direct marketing, national accounts, wholesale and co-branding) inside your territory with zero payment to you. Relocation needs written approval, proof you can fund it, and $5,000.
Questions we get asked
Questions owners ask.
What should a salon be billing?
The 84 franchised salons in operation during 2025 averaged $693,963 across four quartiles of 21: $968,245, $702,685, $598,612 and $506,310. The system runs from $445,113 to $1,491,940, a range of 3.35 times, which is narrow for a franchise of this size. Medians sit close to averages in every quartile except the first. That is where a single salon at $1,491,940 pulls the average $81,725 above the $886,520 median.
How do company salons compare?
They finish ahead in all four quartiles and by a widening margin. 6.3% at quartile 1, 14.3% at quartile 2, 17.8% at quartile 3 and 18.7% at quartile 4. Weighted across all 18, the company average is $799,399 against $693,963 franchised, $105,436 a salon. Company salons pay royalty and marketing fund on the same basis as franchisees. So the comparison holds the fee structure constant and the difference sits in operations.
What does the brand cost each year?
A 6.5% royalty and a 3% marketing and technology fund fee, both due monthly by the tenth. $337 a month of software license, email blast and email address charges, $4,044 a year. That works out at 9.92% of sales at the top quartile and 10.30% at the bottom, one of the flattest burdens in franchising, because almost everything scales with sales. Two disclosed fees currently sit at $0 and could add $2,400 a year, and most fees may rise with the Consumer Price Index cumulatively.
What does it cost to open?
$759,200 to $1,448,000, of which $95,000 is a $45,000 franchise fee and a $50,000 grand opening advertising payment to the franchisor. Equipment, furniture, fixtures, décor and supplies run $315,000 to $500,000 and cover 15 to 25 tanning beds plus sunless booths, lotions, lamps, acrylics and fit-out items. Real estate improvements add $258,000 to $565,000. A four-unit area development runs $2,976,800 to $5,732,000 with a $120,000 development fee.
Who does bookkeeping for a GLO Tanning franchise?
Reporting here is capital reporting as much as sales reporting. With $573,000 to $1,065,000 of the build sitting in equipment and improvements, the monthly pack needs sales per bed alongside sales per square foot. Because those two ratios account for the difference between a salon at $506,310 and one at $968,245 far better than a revenue line does. Membership counts, active versus lapsed, belong next to them. On compliance, royalty and marketing fund are both due by the tenth of the following month with 18% interest and $25 a day of late charges up to $500 an instance running from the due date. So the close has to finish ahead of the payment. An audit showing a 2% understatement is billed to the franchisee. Averan provides bookkeeping, controller, and fractional CFO support for franchise owners and has Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisors on the team.
- No median. Only an average is published, which a few large locations can lift on their own.
- No profit figure. The filing reports sales and not earnings, so what an owner keeps is not disclosed.
- No cost lines. Wages, rent and cost of goods are not broken out, so margin cannot be rebuilt from the document.
- No attainment figure. The filing does not say how many locations reached the average it publishes.
Questions worth putting to GLO Tanning
The filing answers what it answers. These are the gaps an owner or a buyer should close directly.
- What do locations at the median spend on wages and rent as a share of sales? The filing reports sales only.
- What separates the highest-selling locations from the lowest: trade area, years open, size, or the owner?
- How long does a new location take to reach the average you publish, and what does the build-up look like month by month?
- At what level of sales do the minimum charges stop applying and the percentage take over?
- How many GLO Tanning locations closed, were sold, or changed hands last year, and why?
Run your own numbers.
The Franchise Finance Diagnostic runs the same checks on your own numbers. It scores where you stand and compares you with Item 19 of your brand’s FDD. It works out what one location earns and spends, and builds a 13-week cash forecast. Checks whether you are ready to open another one. It is free and it runs in your browser.
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