Five Franchises Are Better Than One…

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Fantastic Sams Hair Salons, Wireless Zone, Hollywood Tans, Salad Creations and Contours Express Women's Gym Target Dallas for Franchise Development, Plan to Open Combined 250+ Locations

November 25, 2007 // Franchising.com // DALLAS – While many franchise systems work solo to develop brands nationwide, five of the world's top franchise systems have teamed to target the Dallas market as one. Fantastic Sams Hair Salons, Wireless Zone, Hollywood Tans, Salad Creations and Contours Express Women's Gym have announced plans to open more than 250 locations throughout the area.

The five some will host the Franchise Road Show Tour, a free traveling franchise opportunities seminar geared toward not only educating prospective franchisees of business opportunities, but also educating the community on the basics of franchising. The concepts will dispel the myths of the industry and showcase their collective passion for growing the brands in Dallas/Fort Worth at 7 p.m. December 4 at the Wyndham Dallas North by the Galleria, 4801 LBJ Freeway in Dallas; and at 7 p.m. December 5 at the Hilton Arlington, 2401 East Lamar Boulevard in Arlington. For reservations, call 1-877-826-7123 or visit www.franchiseroadshow.net.

With 21 salons open in the Dallas area, Fantastic Sams Hair Salons is primed to develop 80 additional locations throughout the market during the next five years, said Jeff Sturgis, Vice President of Franchise Sales and Development for the 1400-unit hair salon franchise.

"Fantastic Sams has enjoyed many years of success and guest loyalty in the Dallas market," Sturgis said. "With the growing population, we feel now is the perfect time to expand our presence and bring our Full Service salon concept to more markets and guests."

Wireless Zone has marked Dallas as it first Texas market to develop. The 260-unit retail franchise has turned off the "mute button" and is making noise with a revitalized brand in new markets around the country. For nearly 20 years, the "quiet" franchise experienced steady growth, primarily in New England, with virtually no proactive franchise sales or marketing efforts. Now, the nation's largest exclusive franchise retailer of Verizon Wireless products and services is shifting from a reserved to an assertive approach, adding new stores in untapped markets, while undertaking a branding campaign that will ultimately result in a new look and feel for its stores and Web site. Wireless Zone plans to infiltrate the Dallas market with 50 new locations in the next 3-5 years, said Sean Fitzgerald, Wireless Zone's national vice president of franchise development.

"For practically our entire existence, we have focused our expansion strategy on the East Coast – making sure we had all the systems and infrastructure in place to expand nationwide," he said. "Dallas is going to be like a second headquarters for us, as it will be a focal point for our growth throughout the Midwest."

Hollywood Tans, a 322-unit national franchise, the largest indoor tanning concept in the United States, has also added Dallas to its aggressive growth strategy. Dallas/Ft. Worth is a proven tanning market and Hollywood Tans plans to open at least 40 locations over the next five years, said Chief Franchising Officer Steve Beagelman.

"We consider Dallas/Ft. Worth a significant opportunity for growth," Beagelman said. "There are no indoor tanning franchises in Dallas/Ft. Worth that manufacture their own equipment – and we view this as a huge competitive advantage for our company and our franchisees as we enter this major market. Another key strength of ours is that our salons specialize in stand up tanning technology, which requires less space, and allows for a quicker tan time for the consumer."

Salad Creations, a 30-unit fresh salad franchise, opened its first Texas location in Dallas in the Village on the Green and will soon open locations in Knox-Henderson and Rockwall. Building on its growing brand recognition, Salad Creations plans on opening 50 more locations throughout the Dallas market over the next 3-5 years.

"Salad Creations is the ideal solution for the Dallas customer who is tired of typical fast food and searching for a delicious, quick and nutritious alternative," said Jeff Levine, president and CEO of Salad Creations. "Until now, consumers' choices have been limited regarding fresh foods, but our guests create their own salad or have one designed for them using a wide range of fresh ingredients."

Contours Express Women's Gym, with more than 250 units nationwide, just recently opened its first Dallas location. With the market size, Contours' CEO Jose Perez, Jr. said the market could hold an additional 40 locations, all to open within the next five years.

"Dallas is a great market for fitness because of the active lifestyles of its residents and the number of women in the market," he said. "We see an under-served population which needs more women's fitness centers."

FranFund, a unique consulting and service firm that specializes in providing funding solutions to the franchise industry, truly understands the needs and challenges that prospective franchisees may face when financing their business. Franchise funding is FranFund's single-minded focus – and no one in the industry has access to more lenders, more funding solutions, or more expertise to accelerate the growth of your franchise.

"Most new franchisees will need financing to help them afford their franchise business because of either down payment and/or collateral concerns," said Geoff Seiber, CEO of FranFund. "As the leaders in providing assistance to the industry when finding funds to pay for an entrepreneur's new venture, we have the sources to help them achieve their dreams.

Together, the five franchise systems plan to open more than 250 locations throughout Dallas in the next 3-5 years. For more information on the Road Show Tour, call 1-877-826-7123 or visit www.franchiseroadshow.net.

ABOUT FANTASTIC SAMS

With nearly 1,400 salons located throughout North America, Fantastic Sams (www.fantasticsams.com) is one of the world's largest full service hair care franchises with an excellent reputation for providing quality hair care services for the entire family. Opening their first salon in July 1974, Fantastic Sams began franchising in 1976, marketing their "fixed fee" system and "no appointments" necessary concept to entrepreneurs seeking to own and operate their own successful business.

ABOUT WIRELESS ZONE

When Russ Weldon created what he then called "The Car Phone Store" in 1988, he envisioned a retail store solely dedicated to wireless communications products and services. Nearly 20 years later, the renamed and reenergized Wireless Zone franchise is operating 260 locations, mainly in the Northeast, with plans to have 400 locations open in 2008. Now, the franchise is launching the concept throughout the South and Midwest, giving entrepreneurs the opportunity to join the nation's largest exclusive carrier and retailer of Verizon Wireless products and services. Wireless Zone is a division of Automotive Technologies, Inc. For more information, visit www.wirelesszone.com.

ABOUT HOLLYWOOD TANS
Since 1998, Hollywood Tans has offered franchises for establishment and the operation of the nation's largest chain of indoor tanning salons. They offer a carefully designed and well proven concept that offers indoor tanning services, specialty products and Hollywood Tans' proprietary brand of exclusive lotions. The largest chain in the tanning industry, Hollywood Tans is the only retailer that also manufactures their own tanning equipment, allowing franchisees to enjoy a direct relationship with their manufacturer, instead of having to use distributors. Hollywood Tans operates more than 320 salons in the United States, with more than 70 units in development. Hollywood Tans has been rewarded with accolades from Entrepreneur Magazine's Franchise 500 and captured the No. 1 ranking for Tanning Salons and the 106th overall franchise ranking for 2007. Hollywood Tans was also ranked as one of the fastest growing franchises for 2007 by Entrepreneur Magazine. For more information, visit www.hollywoodtans.com.

ABOUT SALAD CREATIONS

Salad Creations is a national franchise offering a fresh alternative of quality made-to-order salads for today's healthy lifestyle. Each restaurant features more than 40 ingredients including farm-fresh vegetables, fruits, cheeses, sliced meats and over 15 specially prepared salad dressings. Salad Creations also offers more than 10 featured salads and a variety of daily soup specials, fresh wraps and a complete line of smoothies. Headquartered in Margate, FL, Salad Creations has 30 locations open across the country, Puerto Rico, Mexico and Trinidad. For more information, visit www.saladcreations.net.

ABOUT CONTOURS EXPRESS
Contours Express, the #2 Women's Gym franchise behind Curves International, was founded in 1998 in Nicholasville, Kentucky. The company's founders are not new to the fitness industry; they have over fifty years of combined experience in full-scale health club ownership. The company was acquired in 2005 by Pilot Group, a private equity firm in New York City headed by a team of media and branding executives who have run such companies as America Online, Century 21, Six Flags Theme Parks and MTV. Contours Express currently has over 600 clubs operating throughout the world, in the United States, Australia, Canada, Central America, Europe, and South America. The company's philosophy is focused around helping women get fit in a comfortable, supportive and effective environment.