ETS Tanning Bed Blog

For 10 years starting in the mid-1990s, Don Olevnik owned a chain of video rental stores in New York state. A developer approached him to open a new store in a planned strip mall but things didn’t work out as the site was too close to an established Blockbuster.

“So I asked, ‘What about a tanning salon?” Olevnik said. And in 2005, Dark Tan was born.

Today, Dark Tan has five salons with a sixth set to open soon. The first opened in Horseheads in 2005, followed by salons in Geneva that same year, Canandaigua in 2006, Elmira in 2008, Waterloo a year later and Corning earlier this year. The new salon is being built in Watkins Glen.

“I opened that first salon, did very well and simply kept building on the initial success I had,” Olevnik said. “What sets Dark Tan apart from our competition is our equipment first and foremost. If we don’t have the best tanning beds with the latest technology that deliver the best results for our customers, we won’t be successful. That’s why I chose ETS Tan’s e3 beds when we opened our latest tanning salon in Corning.

“I’ve compared air conditioning costs of my new Corning salon with e3 beds to those of my other salons and there is a huge difference. e3 beds run cooler and that is resulting in significant operational savings. They’re are also more compact than competitor beds and take up less floor space inside my rooms. That gives me more square footage for my customers.”

High performance and space and energy savings are important to Olevnik as a successful salon owner.

“But I’m a huge believer about the wow factor that affects consumers,” he said. “I was turned on by the look of the e3 beds. I knew my customers would be, too, and their reaction to these beds has been overwhelming. When new customers see an e3 bed, they say, ‘I need to tan in that bed.’ ETS Tan’s new look was the look and style I wanted for my salon.”