There's a reason why Regis Corp, the long-ailing haircut outfit, wants to look more like neighboring Great Clips.
Regis, which just laid off another 290 people in North America, has struggled since the late CEO Paul Finkelstein, one of Minnesota's top-paid executives for years, was forced out in 2012.
In August, Regis, under its second CEO since Finkelstein, announced it was accelerating its two-year transition from a mix of corporate-owned and franchised stores to franchisee-shops only.
The stock price of Regis, which reports 2019 earnings Feb. 4, trades at half its value of 15 years ago.
Regis, which operates several brands including Supercuts and Cost Cutters, essentially is grooming itself to be more like rival Great Clips.
Privately held Great Clips, also Twin Cities-based, has had success as a pure play since 1982.
It is a franchiser of 4,500-plus salons in the United States and Canada owned by 1,200 franchisees.
Regis' total revenue has slipped from about $1.8 billion to $1 billion over the last five years, partly because of sales of stores to franchisees. It has been an arduous, multiyear turnaround for what was once a rapacious consolidator.