2.10.7Segment

Nail Salons

Nail salon operators providing manicure, pedicure, and nail enhancement services to consumer clients.

3
Verticals

Overview

Nail Salons provide manicure, pedicure, and nail-enhancement services through a vast base of predominantly independent, owner-operated shops. Demand has grown strongly, supported by the mainstreaming of regular nail care and premium services.

It is one of the most fragmented personal-care categories, largely cash-and-independent, with limited franchising or consolidation to date. Emerging membership and premium concepts are beginning to introduce more scalable models.

Market snapshot

Market size
~$11B
Growth
~12.7%CAGR (2017–22, nominal)
Companies
~33,653 firms
Firms by employee count

98.5% of firms have fewer than 20 employees: 33,151 micro-businesses, below most mandates.

The investable universe502 firms with 20+ employees
20–99
49899%
100–499
41%
500+
00%

strong reported growth partly reflects recovery and improved reporting of a cash-heavy sector.

NAICS 812113. U.S. Census Bureau — 2022 Statistics of U.S. Businesses; U.S. Census Bureau — 2022 Economic Census.

Business model & economics

Revenue model

Per-service fees

Key economics

Revenue per firm
$337,752
Revenue per employee
$73,307
Employees per firm
4.3
Recurring revenue
Moderate

recurring repeat visits

EBITDA margin
10–20%
Capex intensity
Low

Characteristics

  • Balanced cost base — payroll is 32% of revenue, leaving room to scale margin without cutting staff
  • Owner-operator dominated — 89% of businesses have no employees and take 51% of revenue
  • Thin strategic-buyer pool — only 0 firms exceed 500 employees; exits skew sponsor-to-sponsor
  • Mainstreaming of regular nail care supports demand.
  • Predominantly independent and cash-operated.
  • Emerging membership and premium concepts add scalability.

NAICS 812113. U.S. Census Bureau — 2022 Statistics of U.S. Businesses; U.S. Census Bureau — 2022 Economic Census; U.S. Census Bureau — 2022 Nonemployer Statistics.

Geographic concentration

AlabamaAlaskaArizonaColoradoFloridaGeorgiaIndianaKansasMaineMassachusettsMinnesotaNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOklahomaPennsylvaniaSouth DakotaTexasWyomingMissouriWest VirginiaIllinoisNew MexicoArkansasDelawareDistrict of ColumbiaHawaiiIowaKentuckyMarylandMichiganMississippiMontanaNew HampshireOhioOregonTennesseeUtahVirginiaWashingtonWisconsinNebraskaSouth CarolinaIdahoNevadaVermontLouisianaRhode IslandNew JerseyConnecticutCaliforniaNew York

Nail salons cluster hard in the coastal metros — Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York each carry roughly twice their expected share of firms, with California close behind — tracking the dense, largely immigrant-owned salon networks (notably Vietnamese-American operators) that built the modern industry.

ConnecticutNew JerseyNew YorkCalifornia

U.S. Census Bureau — 2022 Statistics of U.S. Businesses (firms by state), NAICS 812113. Concentration shown by location quotient.

M&A deal context

Deal activityEmerging

Who’s acquiring

  • Emerging nail-salon franchises
  • Premium-concept operators
  • Personal-care platforms

What’s driving deals

  • Early franchising and premium-concept development.
  • Growing demand for regular nail care.
  • Highly fragmented, largely independent base.

Verticals in this segment

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