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At a time of retrenchment for most retailers, Elizabethtown, Ky.-based Sun Tan City is enjoying a growth spurt that has brought it to the Indianapolis market in a big way.
Since November 2008, it has opened eight salons in central Indiana and might have 25 in the area within two years, CEO Rick Kueber said.
Torrid growth is nothing new for the privately held company. Kueber said this was a natural market to blanket because of its proximity to Sun Tan City's Louisville-area headquarters.
"We're at 94 [units nationwide]," Kueber said: "A year ago, we were at 68 salons. The year before that, we were at 49 and the year before that we were 29. We're growing quite rapidly. In five years, we would love to cross the 500-store mark, which we think is a very attainable goal."
Kueber, 37, sees opportunity in part because his chain operates in a field with few large-scale, well-organized rivals. Danielle Maheux, editor of the trade publication Looking Fit, said that while there are about 20,000 tanning salons of various sizes in the United States, the...