The Feel Good Group’s trading entity, The Tanning Shop, is shaping the future of tanning  

Through its leading tanning retail chain, The Tanning Shop, The Feel Good Group is shaping the future of safe and responsible tanning in the UK. Established in 1990, The Tanning Shop is the UK’s largest tanning chain with more than 100 stores providing safe and professional tanning solutions. 

Adam Mooney, Executive Chairman and Managing Director. “The genesis of the business is very simple; I happened to come across an innovation, a vertical tanning machine, while working in an entirely different industry. I had never used sun beds myself, but the abiltiy to tan while standing up intrigued me. From a business perspective, vertical sunbeds consume less footprint than traditional beds, allowing a smaller store to serve the same number of customers as a larger one with horizontal beds. This sparked a prosperous opportunity to create a business model using much lower property and investment costs.”

Despite concerns from his family members, Adam took a leap of faith and opened his first store in Dublin, Ireland, in 1990. “My mother ran our first store with no prior retail experience but an empathetic, customer-centric approach, which made me realize the importance of great customer service,” he reflects. “We quickly experienced a strong appetite among customers, and we developed the business from there. 

“The Tanning Shop has evolved significantly over the last 30 years or so. The original site in Dublin, for instance, was 300 square feet with three vertical tanning units and one member of staff, but the new Scunthorpe shop is 2500 square feet with ten units, convenient parking, and seven members of staff. We’re committed to responsible tanning and over 34 years, we’ve built trust in the brand to help customers tan safely and professionally. We offer responsible tanning sessions, which discuss the customer’s skin type and appropriate exposure level to promote moderate, healthy tanning.  

“There are constant regulatory changes in this industry at both national and international levels, such as underage regulation and licensing conditions, so we must adapt our machines or operations accordingly,” he explains. “The biggest regulatory change was the implementation of 0.3 compliance in 2007, which restricted operators and retailers to only provide equipment where the output mimicked that of the midday sun in the Mediterranean. 

“This means that today, there is little or no difference between sunbed technology and the spectrum of light you naturally expose your body to. It also changed the narrative from faster tanning being best to slow, moderate tanning that eliminates any risk of erythema. Considering 0.3 compliance, typically only ten percent of our units are vertical to cater to customers who prefer to relax during a slower, safer tanning session. In some stores, we have ‘Sun Angels’ that last for a fixed 20-minute session and are bespoke to an individual’s skin type, with a controlled sensor that adjusts UVA and UVB light to suit their skin. 

“We’ve also digitized the customer experience, as customers can now register and purchase sessions online, which are redeemed using in-store biometrics recognition. This technology not only ensures age restrictions are upheld but gives customers confidence that their prepaid sessions are protected and can only be accessed by them.” 

Embracing holistic therapies 

In addition to traditional tanning, The Tanning Shop now offers alternative methods, including spray tanning to offer customers instant gratification in terms of aesthetic, and photomodulation capabilities, also known as red light therapy, which offers health benefits with zero UV exposure. 

To iterate the benefits of red light therapy, Adam shares his view on maintaining a healthy human body. “There are five pillars essential for optimum health in humans: sleep, nutrients, oxygen, exercise, and light,” he states. “Public health guidance often demonizes sunbeds, leading people to shun light exposure and alter their attitude to light. However, vitamin D deficiencies are prevalent in the UK, and daily light exposure is crucial for maintaining healthy levels of vitamin D.  

“There is a different wavelength of light that naturally radiates from the sun called red light, which is essential for wellbeing. Red light helps the body to recover and regenerate mitochondria, helping to amplify energy levels, as well as supporting regular circadian rhythms, repairing scar tissue, and providing endorphin release for pain management.  

“By offering pure red light therapy with no UV exposure, we’re open to a new audience who are looking for holistic health therapy as opposed to tanning. I felt The Tanning Shop was a great platform for me to extend the product offering into this specialist therapy, so we’re aggressively rolling out this technology in our stores, with a goal to equip at least 80 percent of the chain over the next 12 months.” 

Personal meets professional 

Driven by Adam’s personal experiences with restorative therapies, The Feel Good Group has added a new brand, Renu, to its portfolio. “I embraced restorative therapies like red light and cold water therapy, and I was blown away by the results,” Adam reflects. “To commercialize this, I established a brand to offer hyperbaric oxygen therapy, compression leg therapy, biomarking, and IV infused drip therapy. As this brand grows, my mission is to democratize these services to make them available, accessible, and affordable.  

“Growth is always on the agenda, and we’ve just acquired a chain of stores in the West Midlands to expand our network in the region. We will continue to deploy capital expenditure as a driver for growth and we’re starting to see strong vitality in the business, which will grow further as we continue to dominate the high street tanning market.  

“In the longer term, we will be rolling our red light therapy across all stores, and I see the business eventually offering additional novel treatments in the restorative and longevity industries,” Adam concludes.
“It’s also important that I continue to build an excellent management team to grow The Tanning Shop beyond my tenure in the future.” 

 

www.thetanningshop.co.uk