Stories from the Covid-19 Front Lines: CDO Q&A with Pete Lindsey of Nikita Hair USA

Name: Pete Lindsey
Title: Consultant
Brand: Nikita Hair USA
Segment: Salon operations, retail
Units: 150+
Locations: Norway and 3 U.S. states

What are you doing differently with your franchise development program as a result of Covid-19? 

We have pulled back most of our franchise marketing. We don't really have consumer marketing going on right now. 

What are your plans for the next 60 days (April & May)? 

We will continue to do limited advertising for franchise sales as we feel we are well-positioned coming out of the virus. 

What are your plans for the following 90 days (June, July, August)? 

We will try to build out two of our stores as the situation offers. We will continue to conduct franchise sales.

Have you made major changes to your franchisee recruitment program or sales process? 

We are building out a sales process and believe that due diligence will not change, so our process will not be altered. We are weighting funding plans more up front in our process to make sure funding will not be a problem.

Have you made any changes to the roles or duties of your team? 

No changes to my role in franchise sales. We have furloughed non-essential personnel and cut down on the number of portals we are advertising on. We’re still getting content out there for our franchise sales.