Is a sunbed shop a good business oportunity.?

I am looking to open a solarium in my local village and need to do a bit of research. What are overheads like? is insreance really high due to skin cancer etc.

The village in question is very exclusive and the site is right on the main street. there is no real competitors except the local sport centre where the beds are supposedly rubbish.

Do you think it is worth stumping up the cash and taking the risk?

I have been in the tanning industry for 6 years and it gets worse each year. I own 3 tanning shops in the UK. it has become a very hard business with lots of negative publicity, and pricing wars. The spray tanning was going to be a lifeline, but the results given stopped any repeat business there. Insurance is ok I pay 800GBP a month for the 3 sites (26 units).The choice is yours, but I would talk to others in the industry. It is slow and many are trying to find a way out. Good luck

I wouldnt not in this day and age, Most sensible people are faking it.

Book a session at the sport center. Get friendly with the person that is serving you. Ask questions that will give you an idea how many customers they are getting per month, what are the good /bad months? Then figure out if there is enough market for both of you. If the answer is a definite yes, then invest in a professional market study to make sure, unless you want to play roulette with your investment. Your local banker can tell you who can do it.

I owned 3 solariums in Germany from 1991 to 1999. (Lost all in a divorce.) It is a good business in Germany because the government did a safety study of the effects of sunbeds on the skin and concluded that it is a controlled safe environment and safer than the sun.
The biggest downfall of a solarium is when people borrow the money to start the business, lease the sunbeds and the costs run them out of business. Paying too high a rent for the premises is a danger point. Make sure that you shop around for the cheapest electricity provider. Make sure that you do as many hours as possible in the business and keep the number of employees down. And last but not least keep everything spotless at all times and change the tubes often. Oh, and become an expert on the effects of UV light on the skin

Don't think is is a good idea these days, too much bad publicity and the tanning agents you can buy over the counter are less expenive and not harmful.
Perhaps you could diversify into other ares like manicure's etc. or alternative therapy, reflexology, acupuncture, reiki. Look at the age group of the people in the village, the grey pound is where the money is at.
Good luck in whatever you do.