If you’ve ever traveled in rural areas in France, you may have realized a French peculiarity. Even in the seemingly less populated towns, there’s a hair salon. French startup Planity has been taking advantage of France’s love affair with hair salons to launch a SaaS product for these businesses in particular. Over time, the company expanded to other types of beauty salons, such as barbers and nail salons.
Key Takeaway
Planity, a SaaS platform, has completely replaced the traditional paper appointment book widely used in hair salons. It simplifies salon management by providing a centralized platform for appointment booking and other essential functions.
Revolutionizing Beauty Salon Management
Planity, a French startup, has recently raised a €45 million Series C round ($48 million at today’s exchange rate) in a round led by InfraVia Capital Partners with existing investors Cre?dit Mutuel Innovation, Revaia and Bpifrance’s Digital Venture fund also participating. The company has been working surprisingly well as there are now more than 40,000 small businesses relying on Planity for appointment booking and more.
Unique Approach
Planity’s co-founder and CEO Antoine Puymirat first started working on online appointment booking in 2007. Instead of creating an all-encompassing appointment solution, he chose to focus on beauty salons specifically. Planity is a SaaS platform that completely replaces the traditional paper appointment book. It becomes the single source of truth and simplifies salon management. Unlike its competitors, Planity doesn’t charge a commission on each future sale. Instead, it operates on a traditional SaaS model with a monthly subscription fee.
Platform Features
Every month, around eight million people visit Planity. The platform handles around 10 million bookings per month, with 4 million of them being booked directly by the end customers on Planity. The platform also handles waiting lists, sends reminders via text messages, and creates a personalized schedule for each employee. Planity can also replace the point-of-sales solution for an additional €20 per month. Some clients also get payment terminals from Planity.
Expansion Plans
Up next, the company plans to handle wellbeing and fitness centers. Planity’s main market remains France, but the company is starting to grow in Belgium and Germany. The company has a large sales team, with around 200 sales people working for Planity, and the company plans to hire even more.
