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Marc Birenbaum Executive Editor mbirenbaum@creativeage.com 2 November 2015 | beautystorebusiness.com Editor's Note Marcella Ellis has scheduled her Hair Explosion 2015 Tour. Plans are in the works for 2016. Heard About The Mane Vendor Yet? MIGHT A NEW "SMART HAIR EXTEN- sion vending machine" that sells and dispenses a variety of high-quality hair and haircare products to customers bring more sales to your salon store? Entrepre- neur Marcella Ellis, founder and CEO of The Mane Vendor and the Marcella Ellis School of Cosmetology, believes so. According to company officials at The Mane Vendor, the vending-machine concept was created to address a salon owner's need to maintain a well-stocked inventory of hair-extension products. When salons cannot meet customer demand, owners lose revenue and potential clients. The vending machine addresses this problem by immedi- ately providing premium hair extensions and products on the spot. The machine has already received the attention and the endorsement of celebrity hairstylist, beauty expert and entrepreneur Kim Kimble. (Did you see a special edition of the machine on a recent episode of "L.A. Hair" with Kimble?) And it's currently being used inside salons in California, North Carolina, Texas, northern Virginia and Washington, according to com- pany officials at The Mane Vendor. The machine accepts credit cards and cash, and performs all the monetary trans- actions to complete a purchase—creating no extra work. In addition, Ellis has made the machine user-friendly by creating a connected mobile app that allows customers to locate the closest vending machines. The machine's app provides real-time information on cus- tomer purchases, machine inventory and geographical location too. And there's a smaller Mane Vendor Table Top Vendor as well. Ellis is now scheduled to visit four cities on her Hair Explosion 2015 Tour. It started late September in Richmond, Virginia. Next up are: Oct. 18, Charlotte, North Carolina; Oct. 25, Cincinnati; and Nov. 8, Chicago. Plans are also in the works for 2016 in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, throughout Texas and other major cities. She describes the tours as chances to educate salon owners and entrepreneurs on what her company can provide—especially its product-distribution tool—to help bring more profitability and business to salons. Additionally, the tours will offer "Look & Learn" demos that provide the lat- est hair-weaving techniques along with advanced hairstyling skills. They're also direct licensing opportuni- ties for salon owners and investors who could be in business within 45 days for under $25,000. "We are a small company with a mis- sion to help improve numerous salons throughout the nation," says Ellis. "Here in our headquarters we love the phrase the 'Starbucks effect,' meaning we intend to saturate the market with an aggressive, efficient and strategic plan." Officials at The Mane Vendor also see opportunities for the machine to be placed in cosmetology schools and in boutiques. For more about The Mane Vendor or to sign up for the tours, visit themanevendor. com, email sales@themanevendor.com or call 855.626.3836. The Mane Vendor has Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts. ■