Salt Lake City, UT, Jan. 29, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Salt Lake City, Utah - Lice Clinics of America recently ranked for the first time in Entrepreneur magazine’s Franchise 500®, the world’s first, best and most comprehensive franchise-ranking list. Placement on the Franchise 500® is a highly sought-after honor in the franchise industry, as evidenced by the fact that Entrepreneur received more than 1,000 applications this year, making it one of the magazine’s most competitive rankings ever. Recognized as an invaluable resource for potential franchisees, the Franchise 500® ranked Lice Clinics of America based on outstanding performance in areas such as unit growth, brand power, and financial strength and stability.
“Breaking into this elite group of growing businesses is a testimony to our great products, people, and business model,” said Claire Roberts, CEO of Lice Clinics of America. “We offer a patented product, a guaranteed service, a global brand, and protected territories.
Lice Clinics of America® is the exclusive provider of head lice treatment using the revolutionary, FDA-cleared AirAllé® medical device, clinically shown to kill live lice and more than 99 percent of lice eggs (nits) in one hour. Treatment is provided in clean and comfortable urgent-care clinics by certified technicians. The company has quickly grown to more than 350 clinics in 36 countries and is the largest and fastest-growing network of professional lice treatment centers in the world.
“When a child comes home with head lice, parents want it gone now, and traditional pesticide-based products are messy, unreliable and extremely time-consuming,” Roberts said. “Our clinics are successful because we deliver a fast, clean, safe solution.”
The AirAllé medical device was developed by scientists at the University of Utah and has successfully treated nearly half a million cases of head lice worldwide, with a success rate better than 99 percent. It uses carefully controlled heated air to quickly and quietly dehydrate lice and eggs, and the service is guaranteed to be effective.
“As we celebrate 40 years of producing the Franchise 500®, it’s a good opportunity to step back and look at how much has changed since that first ranking in 1980,” says Jason Feifer, editor in chief of Entrepreneur. “While the franchise business model has changed little, the strongest franchise brands are constantly evolving and innovating to keep up with changing trends and technology.”
Some 12 million children contract head lice each year in the United States alone, and that number is growing as traditional lice shampoos are increasingly ineffective. A 2016 study published in the Journal of Medical Entomology found that 98 percent of lice are now immune to the pesticides the products use. The same pesticides have been linked to behavioral and development problems in children.
“Head lice have afflicted humans from the beginning and will always be with us,” Roberts said. “Lice are a problem as old as time and as persistent as taxes, and we have the best solution on the market.”
Over its 40 years in existence, the Franchise 500® has become both a dominant competitive measure for franchisors and a primary research tool for potential franchisees. Lice Clinics of America’s position on the ranking in its first year of eligibility is a testament to its strength as a franchise opportunity.
The key factors that go into the evaluation include costs and fees, size and growth, support, brand strength, and financial strength and stability. Each franchise is given a cumulative score based on an analysis of more than 150 data points, and the 500 franchises with the highest cumulative scores become the Franchise 500® in ranking order.
To view Lice Clinics of America in the full ranking, visit www.entrepreneur.com/franchise500. Results can also be seen in the January/February 2019 issue of Entrepreneur, available on newsstands January 15th.
About Lice Clinics of America
With more than 350 clinics worldwide in 36 countries, Lice Clinics of America (www.LiceClinicsOfAmerica.com) is the largest network of professional head lice treatment centers in the world. Its patented heated-air device, AirAllé, has effectively performed nearly half a million head lice treatments. Lice Clinics of America and AirAllé (www.airalle.com) are brands owned by Larada Sciences™, Inc., which is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah.
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