Press release
Aabani Salon Spa in Weaverville, NC, owned by Jim Kitchens and Edward Lee, recently was named to the SALON TODAY 200 by SALON TODAY magazine, the top business publication for salon and spa owners.
The award, which recognizes the top 200 salons in America, is highly coveted in the beauty industry. Thousands of salons across the country apply for the award but only a handful are selected. Committees are chosen from industry peers who evaluate all of the applications and select winners after careful review.
Aabani, which means “of the earth” in Sanskrit, is an Aveda salon and is the second to be opened by Kitchens and Lee. In 2008, they sold the successful Edward James Salon in Miami and moved to Western North Carolina with no intentions of opening another salon. It didn’t take long for the entrepreneurial bug to bite them both and soon Aabani Salon Spa was a reality.
Since this time, Aabani Salon Spa has become the salon of choice for men and women all over the region, as well as eastern Tennessee and upstate South Carolina. According to Kitchens, “Opening our salon in Weaverville has been nothing short of amazing. The outpouring of support and patronage that we have received from the community is truly inspiring.”
Salon Today Magazine’s 16th annual Top 200 Salons issue profiled the selected salons in its January/February 2013 edition. The 200 salons were selected for their best business practices from applications submitted by thousands of salon industry members.
Applicants were honored in 11 different best practice categories, including Advanced Education, Compensation & Benefits, Customer Service, Environmental Sustainability, Philanthropy, Planned Profitability, Recruitment & Training, Retail & Merchandising, Retention & Referral Programs, Technology and Growth. Aabani Salon Spa was honored in both the Growth and Environmental Sustainability categories.
“Our editors recognize that strong business leadership requires the mastery of a number of different best business practices,” said Stacey Soble, editor-in-chief of SALON TODAY. “The salons named to the SALON TODAY 200 for 2013 not only proved they excel in one or more of these areas, they also have created rewarding environments for their staff members and superior experiences for their clients. Their willingness to share their success offers our readers important business benchmarks and inspirational sales-building ideas.”
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