Our Story

It Started with a Great Haircut

In 1993, Grant Simon was an entrepreneur with a finance degree looking for a new business when he stopped in for a haircut at his local Great Clips. He liked the concept so much he decided to become a franchisee and with record speed opened his first salon in Atlanta. Over the next ten years he opened 20 additional salons. In 2004, while working at Lipsey Water, Greg Thomas mortgaged everything and entered the franchising business by purchasing an underperforming Great Clips salon in Norcross, GA.  Through good operations and creative marketing, that venture was a success and over the next few years, Greg purchased additional distressed salons. 

In 2006, Greg approached his friend and neighbor, Grant, with the idea of partnering to buy a defunct business together, Auto Indulgence in Alpharetta, one of the largest carwashes in the southeast. Grant's background and expertise was in finance, real estate, and legal matters while Greg excelled in operations, marketing, and sales. Working together, they turned the business around and resold it 17 months later.  They reinvested these profits by buying 5 under-performing Great Clips salons in Tallahassee (FL) and then more in Auburn (AL) and Columbus (GA). They teamed up with Lou Provost and Dana Webster to expand their businesses. In 2012, they formed a management company, LSGF Management, to consolidate and oversee back-office operations of their Great Clips salons and other franchise holdings.

By 2014, they were the largest Great Clips franchisee in the southeast with 45 salons in Georgia, Florida, and Alabama. In 2016, they celebrated the opening of their 50th Great Clips salon and united all salons under a new unified name: "Southeast Clips." Today, Southeast Clips has more than 60 salons across four states with our footprint expanding.