A successful franchise system expands much the same way a military operation advances-on the shoulders of its supply lines. At Great Clips, we recently opened two training centers, one in Toronto (# 64) and another in Boston (# 65). In both cases, our objective was not to saturate the market with owners first, so we could afford to install the training center. No, instead we built the training center after just a few salons were open in each market (and in Boston, after just one salon was open). This local support and training affords our owners the best opportunity to succeed in the market. Too often franchisors, in their haste to open units, will forego logistics and infrastructure for short-term revenues. They'll open stores randomly rather than strategically, sacrificing economies of scale, marketing leverage, and accessibility to training and support resources.

Our 65 state-of-the-art training centers support our approximately 30,000 stylists in nearly 2,800 salons across 140 markets. In all our centers, an on-site salon operations specialist instructs stylists in the latest techniques and customer-service protocols, as well guiding managers in their day-to-day salon operations. The centers are also available for owner meetings, vendor presentations, and regional conferences.

We have several more training center openings planned this year including a high-profile facility we've earmarked for Washington, D.C. Our nation's capital is another underserved market where demand for our value-priced, no appointment necessary service is monumental.

Great Clips is growing; growing prudently for our system and the right way for our franchise owners.