Concept Description
A Category-Defining Concept in Beauty
Dakota London focuses on hair extensions as its primary service. Founded in 2011, the brand has developed a salon experience centered on hair-extension services.
The First Hair Extension-Only Franchise System
As a franchise system devoted entirely to hair extensions, Dakota London positions itself in a niche within the broader beauty market. The brand has essentially done for hair extensions what blowout bars did for styling and lash studios did for eyelashes—carved out a dedicated, premium niche within the broader beauty landscape. This specialized focus allows stylists to become true experts, delivering results that support client satisfaction and encourage repeat visits.
A Business Model Built for Success
The Dakota London model is designed with operational efficiency and profitability in mind. The compact 1,200–1,600 square foot salon footprint requires only approximately three stylists to operate at a high level, dramatically reducing overhead and simplifying management. The brand’s tight supply chain, refined over a decade, enables same-day inventory availability for core lengths and colors—eliminating the weeks-long waits that plague traditional salons and capturing sales competitors lose to special-order delays.
Recurring Revenue and Client Loyalty
What makes Dakota London noteworthy is its recurring revenue model described in relation to ongoing maintenance visits every 6–8 weeks, which can create a regular service cadence. This is fundamentally different from traditional cut-and-color salons that depend on one-time visits and hope clients return. At Dakota London, the service model focuses on delivering specialist hair extension services within a dedicated salon experience.
Premium Service, Accessible Experience
Dakota London has positioned itself as a luxury brand that delivers premium results while making the experience accessible. The brand offers clear, transparent pricing, a compelling new client special (50% off first service), and Franchisees benefit from exclusive access to premium-quality hair products that are not available to traditional salons, along with comprehensive training programs that take stylists far beyond the brief certifications offered elsewhere.
Comprehensive Franchisee Support
From day one, Dakota London franchisees receive dedicated coaching, proven operational systems, and personalized marketing guidance. The franchisor provides web and app-based training that allows staff to be productive before the doors even open, along with ongoing support designed to help each location thrive. Territory exclusivity and regional caps protect franchisee investments, making this an ideal opportunity for entrepreneurs who want to lead in their market rather than compete in a saturated field.
Unit Option
Single, Multiple
Background
Corporate Owned Units: 3
Projected New Units: 1
Year Established: 2011
First Year Franchised: 2024
Type of Business: Franchise
Hours of Operation: Weekends Required
History:
Dakota London Hair Extensions is a specialized, hair-extension-only salon concept built for speed, quality, and consistent results. We focus exclusively on semi-permanent extensions (micro-weft and micro-link/I-tip), offering same-day, in-stock inventory, two-hour transformations, and a 120-day quality guarantee. Clients return every 6–8 weeks for maintenance, creating a high-retention, high-frequency service model. The experience is premium yet efficient—expert color matching, quick transformations, and consistent results delivered by a trained team using a proven playbook.
Born as a single market leader in Scottsdale, AZ, Dakota London evolved into a franchise after perfecting every aspect of the business—from technical standards and the guest journey to the supply chain—over more than a decade. With three corporate locations and a mature vendor network (extensions, tools, and retail care), we’ve developed comprehensive training modules, SOPs, and marketing programs that reliably fill chairs. That operational discipline and demand engine made franchising the natural next step: we provide franchise owners with a complete “how-to” guide for launching, staffing, and scaling this specialized service.
Clients choose Dakota London for quality products and service—supported by a guarantee—without asserting industry leadership. Franchisees choose Dakota London because the model is purpose-built for recurring revenue (6–8 week maintenance cycles), tight inventory control, and streamlined staffing. Each location can operate at a high level with a compact, well-trained team. We support owners with state-of-the-art training, centralized marketing, territory planning, and a fortified supply chain—everything needed to launch strong, deliver consistent guest experiences, and build a loyal client base in every market.
Availability
Territories: United States
Financials
Liquidity: $150,000
*Investment Range: $372,350 - $523,350
**Average Investment: $372,350 - $523,350
Provided by the Franchisor
Minimum Net Worth: $250,001, to $500,000
6 Month Cash: $10,001
Franchise Fee: 1 Unit $49500 2 Units $89500 3 Units $124500 4 Units $154500
Royalty: 7% of Gross Sales
Royalty Description: 7% of Gross Sales
Advertising: $3,000 per month minimum local marketing spend
Passive Ownership: Semi- passive after 1 year
Passive Ownership means the owner is working 15 hours or less per week in the business.
Passive Ownership Explain: Executive Ownership • Strategic Management • Financial Oversight • Brand Stewardship & Marketing Efforts • Salon Manager Handles - Staff Scheduling - Inventory Management - Client Service Delivery - Compliance with Healthy & Safety Standards
Available Discounts
- Veterans
Discount Description: 10% Off Initial Franchise Fee
Training, Support and Assistance
Co-Operative Advertising: N/A
Site Selection Assistance: Available
Lease Negotiation Assistance: N/A
Length of Training: 82 Hours
Training Description:
We provide an initial training program for the Managing Owner and your initial Salon managers and Stylists.
You may send other owners to initial training, but it is not required. Your Managing Owner, managers and Stylists must successfully complete initial training to our satisfaction before your Salon opens. However, there is no specific period of time after signing or before opening that training must be completed.
The initial training program includes: (a) approximately 37 hours of self-paced online training programs accessed through DAKOTA LONDON ACADEMY™ (“Phase 1 Training”); (b) approximately 5 days of training that takes place at our corporate headquarters and a company-owned Salon in Phoenix, Arizona (“Phase 2 Training”); and (c) 1 to 3 days of onsite training conducted at your Salon around the time of your grand opening (“Onsite Training”). Onsite Training is an informal training program where we monitor your
operations, assist you with the opening of your Salon and provide training on an “as needed” basis.
The format for training may include lectures, interactive role playing, hands-on training, conference calls and/or webinars. We reserve the right to conduct all (or any portion) of the training program remotely via webinar, conference call or similar means. The training materials consist of the Manual and our online learning platform, DAKOTA LONDON ACADEMY™. We do not charge you for training materials. We can modify the training
program at our discretion based on our subjective assessment of the skills, abilities and prior experience of your Managing Owner, managers and Stylists. Currently, we intend to offer initial training on a monthly basis, assuming sufficient demand.
Operational and Marketing Tools:
Proven Client Acquisition Funnel
• Proven Google/Meta funnel, review playbooks, and geo-targeted landing pages drive booked installs
• Corporate provides assets and best practices to shorten time-to-first-appointments
• Ongoing marketing spend review with corporate
• 50% off new client special (with no membership required) to drive customers in
Financing Assistance: N/A
