First Choice Haircutters

Infobox Company
name = First Choice Haircutters

type = Hair salon chain
genre =
foundation = 1980
founder =
key_people = Bud Cowan (CEO)
location_city = Mississauga, Ontario
location_country = Canada
location =
locations = 400+
area_served = North America
parent = Regis Corporation
homepage = http://www.firstchoice.com/

First Choice Haircutters is a hairdressing company. The company originated as a salon in London, Ontario, in 1980. Currently it has over 400 locations all over Canada and the United States.cite web|url=http://www.firstchoice.com/Company.htm|title=The Company|publisher=First Choice Haircutters|accessdate=2008-09-09] It is a franchise company, and experienced system-wide sales of nearly $3 billion in 2007. First Choice Haircutters is today a subsidiary of Regis Corporation; the largest hair salon chain in the world, that also owns companies like Supercuts.cite web|url=http://www.regiscorp.com/branddetail.aspx?brandid=497|title= First Choice Haircutters|publisher=Regis Corporation|accessdate=2008-09-09]

Company origin and profile

The company headquarters are located in Mississauga, Ontario, and chief executive officer and president is A. Bud Cowan. [cite web|url=http://www.salonsense.com/chain_salons.html|title=Chain salons|publisher=Salon Sense|accessdate=2008-09-09] Cowan is also the founder of the chain, and is himself an award-winning barber and stylist. After opening the first salon in 1980, he started franchising the concept two years later. [cite web|url=http://www.thefranchisemall.com/franchises/details/10596-0-First_Choice_Haircutters.htm|title=First Choice Haircutters|publisher=The Franchise Mall|accessdate=2008-09-09] [cite news|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb5559/is_200009/ai_n22590318|title=Celebrating 20 years, First Choice Haircutters Continues To Ride The Wave Of Success.|date=2000-09|publisher=Canadian Corporate News, |accessdate=2008-09-09]

Often located in strip malls, the company describes itself as targeting "value-conscious families". Most salons are 800–1000 square feet, with a minimum frontage of 15 feet.cite web|url=http://www.firstchoice.com/Leasing.htm|title=Leasing|publisher=First Choice Haircutters|accessdate=2008-09-09] The salons operate on a drop-in basis.

Related stories

The Canadian actress Jacqueline MacInnes Wood, who later went on to act in the soap opera "The Bold and the Beautiful", made her début in a commercial for the company. [cite news|url=http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/show/CTVShows/20080730/wood_feature_080730/20080730/|title=New Canadian 'B&B' star not afraid of a little criticism|last=Warner|first=Tyrone|publisher=CTV Television Network|accessdate=2008-09-09] She was only eighteen when she played the part of "the hair girl" on the commercial; the ad was still running three years later. [cite news|url=http://www.cbs.com/daytime/the_bold_and_the_beautiful/bio/jacqueline_macinnes_wood_/bio.php|title=Biography|publisher=CBS|accessdate=2008-09-09]

In August 2008, a First Choice Haircutters salon in Bowmanville, Ontario, was hit by an SUV that, for unknown reasons, crashed through the front window. There were no injuries resulting from the accident, as nobody was sitting in the chairs when it happened. [cite news|url=http://newsdurhamregion.com/news/crime/article/105385|title=Short cut: car crashes into hair cutting shop|last=Stone|first=Jennifer|date=2008-08-13|publisher=News Durham Region|accessdate=2008-09-09]

References

External link

* [http://www.firstchoice.com/ Company web page]