18/8 Eighteen Eight Fine Men’s Salons overstates the success of its franchises and understates its franchise failures, according to a franchise owner who provided this anonymous complaint. We invite others to validate or dispute this claim – and share their opinions of the Eighteen Eight Fine Men’s Salon franchise, the Griff’s Shave Bar franchise, and franchisor Ultimate Franchises Inc.
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Eighteen Eight Fine Men’s Salons – How Many Open / Closed / Rebranded? is an anonymously submitted guest post penned by a current or former 18/8 franchise owner.
The writer believes all information and numbers to be accurate, but invites readers to verify independently and draw their own conclusions.
Here’s the Guest Post:
Submitted by An 18/8 Franchise Owner.
In a recent Forbes interview (dated 6/13/18), franchise CEO (Chief Exaggerating Officer), Scott Griffiths severely overstates franchise success, open location count, and units in development of the 18/8 Fine Men’s Salon franchise chain.
Scott Griffiths is also the principal of Ultimate Franchises Inc. and the sub-brand Griff’s Shave Bar.
The premise of the article is how the financial crisis helped 18|8 Fine Men’s Salons grow faster through franchising than it would have organically.
While franchising has helped the 18|8 brand grow in store count in recent years, the rapid closing of locations throughout the country has led to many franchisees losing their life savings.
Griffiths states in the article, “Since franchising, 18|8 Fine Men’s Salons has grown to nearly 100 locations, with more than 150 in development.”
Eighteen Eight’s own website only lists 61 operating locations. Where are the other 39?
In a recent internal call with franchisees, Griffiths claims 75 open locations.
Did he mean “nearly” 75?
Where is the truth?
1. Irvine, CA (https://www.yelp.com/biz/18-8-fine-mens-salon-irvine-2)
2. Westlake Village, CA (https://www.yelp.com/biz/eighteen-eight-fine-mens-salon-westlake-village)
3. San Rafael, CA (https://www.yelp.com/biz/18-8-fine-mens-salon-san-rafael)
4. Walnut Creek, CA (https://www.yelp.com/biz/18-8-fine-mens-salons-walnut-creek-walnut-creek-2)
5. Culver City, CA (https://www.yelp.com/biz/18-8-fine-mens-salons-culver-city-culver-city-5)
6. La Jolla, CA (https://www.yelp.com/biz/18-8-fine-mens-salons-la-jolla-la-jolla-2)
7. Little Italy (San Diego), CA (https://www.yelp.com/biz/18-8-fine-mens-salons-broadstone-little-italy-san-diego)
8. Washington, DC (https://www.yelp.com/biz/18-8-fine-mens-salons-washington)
9. Coral Gables, FL (https://www.yelp.com/biz/18-8-fine-mens-salon-coral-gables)
10. Bethesda, MD (https://www.yelp.com/biz/18-8-fine-mens-salons-bethesda-bethesda)
11. Maple Lawn, MD (https://www.yelp.com/biz/18-8-fine-mens-salons-maple-lawn-fulton-2)
12. North Baltimore, MD (https://www.yelp.com/biz/18-8-fine-mens-salons-greenspring-baltimore-2)
13. St. Louis Park, MN (https://www.yelp.com/biz/18-8-fine-mens-salons-st-louis-park-st-louis-park-2)
14. Bedminster, NJ (https://www.yelp.com/biz/18-8-fine-mens-salons-bedminster)
15. Westwood, NJ (https://www.yelp.com/biz/18-8-fine-mens-salons-westwood)
16. Florham Park, NJ (https://www.yelp.com/biz/18-8-fine-mens-salons-florham-park-florham-park)
17. Edgewater, NJ (https://www.yelp.com/biz/18-8-fine-mens-salons-city-place-edgewater-edgewater)
18. Livingston, NJ (https://www.yelp.com/biz/18-8-fine-mens-salons-livingston-livingston)
19. Woodbury, NJ (https://www.yelp.com/biz/18-8-fine-mens-salons-woodbury-woodbury)
20. Beachwood, OH (https://www.yelp.com/biz/18-8-fine-mens-salons-beachwood-beachwood-2)
21. Avon Commons, OH (https://www.yelp.com/biz/18-8-fine-mens-salons-avon-commons-avon)
22. Lake Oswego, OR (https://www.yelp.com/biz/18-8-fine-mens-salons-lake-oswego-lake-oswego-4)
23. McKinney, TX (https://www.yelp.com/biz/18-8-fine-mens-salons-mckinney-mckinney)
24. Fort Worth, TX (https://www.yelp.com/biz/18-8-fine-mens-salons-fort-worth-fort-worth)
1. Ocotillo, AZ
2. Waterfront, AZ
3. Newport Beach, CA
4. West Hollywood, CA
5. Dublin, CA
6. Brea, CA
7. Huntington Beach, CA
8. Campbell, CA
9. Roseville, CA
10. Mountain View, CA
11. Laguna Niguel, CA
12. Closter, NJ
13. Jersey City, NJ
14. Mamaroneck, NJ
15. Cool Springs, TN
16. Plano, TX
17. Flower Mound, TX
18. Richardson, TX
19. Bothell, WA
6 other former franchise locations have had operations taken over by 18|8 corporate;
1. Anaheim Hills, CA
2. Lake Forest, CA
3. Centennial, CO
4. Annapolis, MD
5. Princeton, NJ
6. Powell, OH
The franchise page of the eighteeneight.com franchise website states: “Total Investment Range is $291,851 – $513,639 for a single 18|8 Fine Men’s Salon.”
Considering all store closures, rebrands, and corporate takeovers, this equates to $14.3-$25.1 million in lost investor value. This total does not include resales that have netted the original owner negative value.
Scott Griffiths claims 150 units in development. In the first 6 months of 2018 alone, over 2 dozen locations have either closed or rebranded, while only 2 new locations have opened. In an amazing twist of irony; the recent Forbes article is titled “Growth Stories: How the Financial Crisis Caused This Business To Grow Ten Times Faster.”
Share your personal Growth Story with 18|8 Fine Men’s Salons in the comments.
[End of Guest Submitted Content]
See how many locations Ultimate Franchises, Inc. claims to have as of July, 2017. See Item 20 for location and sales information, and the exhibits for a list of current and former franchise owners:
ALSO READ:
FRANCHISE DISCUSSIONS by Company
NOTE: We invite all parties discussed to share corrections, clarifications, explanations, rebuttals, and alternative points of views. Franchisors, franchisees, employees and others discussed here can leave comments below or submit rebuttals and clarifications via email to UnhappyFranchisee[at]Gmail.com.
Opinions and representations expressed are those of the parties alone; do your own research and make up your own mind. We are a discussion site and invite all opinions from all points of view which can be left as comments or submitted to UnhappyFranchisee[at]gmail.com for possible publication. Anonymous commenting is fine. Please consider supporting our effort with a contribution to Unhappy Franchisee.
ARE YOU AN 18/8 EIGHTEEN EIGHT FRANCHISE OWNER OR GRIFF’S SHAVE BAR FRANCHISEE? WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE ULTIMATE FRANCHISES, INC. CONCEPTS AND SUPPORT?
IS SCOTT GRIFFITHS EXAGGERATING THE SUCCESS & UNDERSTATING THE RISK OF HIS FRANCHISE OPPORTUNITIES?
SHARE A COMMENT BELOW.
TAGS: 18/8 Fine Men’s Salons, 18/8 Fine Men’s Salons franchise, 18/8 Salon franchise opportunity, 18/8 Fine Men’s Salons franchise complaints, Eighteen Eight Salon franchise, Eighteen Eight Salon franchise, Griff’s Shave Bar franchise, Ultimate Franchises Inc., franchise complaints, Scott Griffiths, W. Scott Griffiths, Ron Love, Loretta Hwong Griffiths, , Brigitte Love Thewes, Mark Elson, unhappy franchisee
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View Comments
Palm Springs already sold out? Didn't they open just a few months ago?
==> "Special incentives from franchiser! Product and reduced royalties" <===
https://www.bizbuysell.com/Business-Opportunity/Great-Franchise-Opportunity/1609060/
Looks like there are even more 18|8s for sale. Some are discreetly not saying they are an 18|8 for some reason, but you call tell easily.
Here is Peachtree Corners, for instance. They opened in 2017 and reflect annual revenue of $240K is shown. The asking price is $80,000.
Several franchisees (including the now defunct board of advisors) suggested a couple of years ago to lower the royalty fees as a means to keep more stores of stores from closing. It wasn't accepted at the time. Things appear somewhat different now. Maybe all the current franchisees can get lower royalty fees since EVERYONE buying resale on the cheap are apparently getting lower royalties.
Why wait? Appears to be worth asking for royalty fees now instead of waiting for the benefit to start with the new franchisee purchasing.
Unbelievable that they sell these out for a fraction of their actual cost Especially the newer ones. Such a slap in the face after all the money spent on their “recommenced “ purchases and who to get them from. Always top of the line - always more expensive.
(This is a repost. Not sure what happened.)
Here's a more inclusive list (19 stores) of the 18|8s for sale on bizbuysell.com. The site has a file (Franchise Maven Resales.xlsx) posted on it that can be downloaded listing all franchise resales. You just sort on Industry selecting Fine Men's Salon. The annual revenue, per the file, is listed below in thousands. These amounts are before the 8% royalty. Looks like 6 of the stores may often be paying the higher minimum royalty amount unless an accommodation was made.
Champion Forest, TX ($82),
Lake Forest, CA ($105),
East Cobb, GA ($115),
McKinney, TX ($118),
Memorial Green, TX ($142),
Temecula, CA ($146),
Peachtree Corners, GA ($192),
Costa Mesa (Newport BLVD), CA ($195),
Sugar Land, TX ($223),
Morristown, NJ ($241),
Burlington, MA ($292),
Palm Springs, CA ($300),
Glenview/Glenbrook, IL ($301),
Anaheim Hills, CA ($303),
Princeton, NJ ($314),
Honolulu, HI ($322),
North Scottsdale, AZ ($324),
Lafayette, CA ($703),
Lower Manhattan, NY ($888)
I did not realize that Corp 18/8 had taken over so many stores.
So the model is;
1. Sucker someone into buying rights to a territory and building at least 1 location
2. Provided no support and bleed dry with high royalties
3. Do not market at all
4. Take over failing location for nothing
5. List for resale
6. Profit!
4. Take over failing location for nothing
5. List for resale
6. Profit!
4. Take over failing location for nothing
5. List for resale
6. Profit!
That is not a typo. 4-6 just repeat. The desperation has really kicked in for Griffiths after losing multiple lawsuits, getting fired by 4 different lawyers for not paying the bills, and selling fake accounts receivable to a factoring company. Sorry Scotty boy, there's no one left that wants to associate themselves with you and your toxic business practices.
Danny, most of the locations on your list are still franchisee owned but NONE are making a dime. Two things I know for certain:
1) Ultimate Franchises has hired a broker to try selling salons that wish to sell out. All the corporate locations sold (given) back to corporate are on this list. The rest have reached out to corporate, who has "offered" to use their broker in an attempt to find a buyer. My assumption is if a sale occurs, corporate will Avenatti the franchisee and keep the proceeds.
2) At least one of the higher revenue salons on this has already sold to a separate party.
3) Some potential suckers are still out there. I received a voicemail from someone in New York yesterday seeking a validation conversation. I'm calling him back today and will not hold back.
This is Sean Kelly, publisher of UnhappyFranchisee.Com.
I am testing out a new sponsored investigation initiative that has worked really well so far. Email me for the details and the strategy behind it. UnhappyFranchisee[at]Gmail.com
The story unfolding here is pretty shocking - and after running this site for 10 years, I don't shock easily.
I am willing to conduct interviews, gather and review your complaints, do original research and put this into a report that can be circulated to my franchisee attorney contacts, the business, trade and consumer media, state franchise regulators, The Federal Trade Commission and (if warranted) law enforcement, including the FBI.
Here's the GoFundMe page I just set up for the 18/8 Fine Men's Salons Franchise Investigation Fundraiser
Feel free to share and promote this link: https://www.gofundme.com/manage/Eighteen-Eight-franchise-investigation
Anyone that wants to see this through-please consider donating. We definitely will be.
Unfortunately I see salons on this list that were warned not to open. They ignored the red flags and warnings from existing and past Franchisees. I personally warned some of these to not open, cut their losses and accept they were frauded like others have. They don’t deserve what Scott did to them and their livelihoods. They however continued on which now they realize what a mistake it was.
@ADMIN the links are taking to me the general GoFundMe page
Sorry... I'll try to find the bad links. Here's the URL for the 18|8 contribution page:
https://www.gofundme.com/Eighteen-Eight-franchise-investigation
thanks!