Sports-themed hair salon makes the cut at Rock Row

Photo / Courtesy Sports Clips Sport Clips is a new sports-themed hair salon for men and boys at Rock Row in Westbrook.

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Franchises are big business in Maine, which boasts 72 franchise brands and 1,433 units from eateries to retail stores and other businesses owned by 864 franchisees.
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Sport Clips Haircuts, a sports-themed salon franchise headquartered in Georgetown, Texas, has joined the growing number of retail establishments at Westbrook's Rock Row development.

Located at 95 Rock Row, the new salon is managed by Kate Vercoe and staffed by a team of seven employees. The salon is one of nearly 1,900 Sport Clips locations across the United States in Canada.

Sport Clips offers haircuts and other services to men and boys surrounded by screens broadcasting sporting events so that they don't miss a basket, touchdown, home run or hole-in-one while being groomed.

The new Sport Clips salon at Rock Row was inaugurated at a recent ribbon-cutting ceremony. Hair cuts start at $23 for the MVP Haircut Experience, which includes a hot steamed towel and massaging shampoo and neck and shoulder treatment; customers can book appointments and check in online or via the Hair Clips app.

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Michael Foley

"This business adds to this destination-oriented development where residents and visitors can take care of their many needs in one place," Westbrook Mayor Michael Foley told Mainebiz. "Having experienced some of their offerings, I encourage everyone to check it out.”

Asked how he rates the haircut he received there, he said, "It was great, definitely a unique experience of more than just your average haircut."

On a more general note, Foley recently told Mainebiz, "We anticipate construction of residential units and more commercial projects at Rock Row around the end of 2023.”

Rock Row, designed around a 400-foot deep, 26-acre natural quarry, is a $600 million, 100-acre mixed-use development featuring a retail and development district with shops, restaurants and health and wellness services. Other businesses include an 80,000-square-foot Market Basket grocery store that opened in 2020, Chick-fil-A, and sporting-goods retailer REI Co-op.

Growing franchise

Elsewhere in Maine, Sport Clips has locations in Bangor, Biddeford, Portland's Northgate Plaza shopping center, Topsham and Waterville's Elm Plaza shopping center.

Established in 1993 and franchised in 1995, Sport Clips is ranked by Entrepreneur Magazine as No. 30 in its Franchise 300 list and is listed in Franchise Direct's 2021 top 100 global franchises, according to a news release. Entrepreneur Magazine also named Sports Clips a 2021 top franchise for veterans, the company said.

Franchises are big business in Maine, which boasts 72 franchise brands and 1,433 units from eateries to retail stores and other businesses owned by 864 franchisees, according to information compiled for Mainebiz last year by FRANdata, a market research company based outside of Washington, D.C.