The name Scores is popping up all over the country as the name for strip clubs. I recently discovered that these clubs are not owned and operated by the original Scores in NYC but rather are paying to use the name under licensing agreements. The newest one is now apparently in Atlanta. I read on another site that Dreams Gentleman's Club is now using Scores for it's name.
Anybody have any idea how much the owners have to pay to lease the name? Does the name impress you enough to give the club a try?
Not sure how much the clubs have to pay for use of the name. Not being a fan of the brand, it's not going to be something that makes me prioritize a visit to that club of over another. The most recent Scores I went to was far from anything people would typically associate with a Scores location, so brand dilution is something they're going to be up against for any customer who would care. I'd say the number of number of customers that would see enough clubs to know the difference is not as high as a place like TUSCL would have folks believe, so it probably doesn't matter as much as it would to licensees in other industries.
If strip clubs are going to a "franchise model"in which the rent the stripe club name, it really helps if the name already has a good reputation based on the quality of the facilities and entertainment.
For example, in the case of the Deja Vu/Hustler franchise, I have a very negative evaluation of that brand based on disappointing visits to clubs in Michigan and Maryland-- overpriced air dances or limited contact dances and overall poor quality adult entertainment. I don't have enough experience with the "Scores" franchise to have a strong opinion.
Maybe a Follies or Hong Kong franchise would make more sense??
WRT Scores it is a licensing agreement providing income for common agenda's like advertising, I do believe that the Cheetah and Deja Vu clubs share a common ownership along with Spearmint Rhino, and not sure about the Hustler/Penthouse connection, I don't know of any franchise agreements in strip clubs,(there could be i just don't know of them), which would entail individual ownership of a franchise and expertise and help in running the operations from the franchisor lots of different revenue streams including -franchise fees but typically a franchisee is required to pay from 7-10% of revenues, licensing deals vary tremendously no two are alike either what they provide or how much they cost.
I learned of the arrangement a while back, shortly after a club nearby became a Scores. The name change actually made me avoid it, as I'm rarely in the mood for the type of clubs that the name Scores engenders in my head (I think of the NYC one.) For other clubs, the name has influenced me to go. At the time, I had a good image of Rhino based experience in the Vegas, Palm Beach, and Lexington ones, so when I Birmingham I stopped in there instead of one of the other clubs nearby.
These days, I mostly prefer the smaller divier joints, so the impression that its a large chain club would steer me away. The Scores around here is definitely not managed like the NYC one though, so frankly I think they're hurting business at both places with the name.
The Cadillac Lounge in Providence, RI, became a Scores club not very long ago (within a year?). They seem to have adopted a "classier" look and feel to accommodate the new franchise status.
It was a good club back when it was the sister club to the Satin Doll (now closed). I stopped going a while ago partly because they scan IDs at the door, and partly because the dancer quality took a nosedive.
I have not seen stellar reviews since they joined the Scores family.
Usually a branded strip club francize is going to have to be more conservative than a local dive. Mostly its the destruction of the front room action, and that poisons the back room action.
Don't let girls sell you dances, as that is a chump's game.
Deja Vu/Larry Flynt's Hustler Clubs are run by the same people, certain clubs have a regional manager and the day-to-day operations are very homogenized with the only real differences being state/city laws (Hustler in Baltimore is nude, Hustler in NOLA is topless, etc.) I work at a Hustler club. There's a Scores in New Orleans that (afaik) isn't affiliated with the Scores in NYC; the Rick's Cabaret in New Orleans is also not affiliated with the Rick's in NYC either. Penthouse clubs are all affiliated with each other. Really, the only thing that the "brand name" can tell you is whether or not the girls will be high quality lookswise. Penthouse is notorious for only hiring girls with the "Penthouse" look. That's really why they're paying to use the name, so the name will do the advertising for them.
Maybe the names used to mean something, but not any more. It is just a money grab for naming/branding rights. Scores Green Bay is all black, postpartum crackwhores. At Penthouse in Sauget, you'd be lucky to find one dancer that could make it into the magazine.
-->"Penthouse clubs are all affiliated with each other."
The Penthouse Club is SF is owned & run by Deja Vu... are all Penthouse Clubs basically Deja Vu clubs? Or perhaps the one in SF is a licensee, not part of the main franchise?
@subraman apparently Deja Vu has a monopoly in SF and owns ALL of the clubs, so that one is either not affiliated with the Penthouse chain OR is used with permission of the owner of the magazine like with the Hustler/Barely Legal clubs.
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For example, in the case of the Deja Vu/Hustler franchise, I have a very negative evaluation of that brand based on disappointing visits to clubs in Michigan and Maryland-- overpriced air dances or limited contact dances and overall poor quality adult entertainment. I don't have enough experience with the "Scores" franchise to have a strong opinion.
Maybe a Follies or Hong Kong franchise would make more sense??
I learned of the arrangement a while back, shortly after a club nearby became a Scores. The name change actually made me avoid it, as I'm rarely in the mood for the type of clubs that the name Scores engenders in my head (I think of the NYC one.) For other clubs, the name has influenced me to go. At the time, I had a good image of Rhino based experience in the Vegas, Palm Beach, and Lexington ones, so when I Birmingham I stopped in there instead of one of the other clubs nearby.
These days, I mostly prefer the smaller divier joints, so the impression that its a large chain club would steer me away. The Scores around here is definitely not managed like the NYC one though, so frankly I think they're hurting business at both places with the name.
It was a good club back when it was the sister club to the Satin Doll (now closed). I stopped going a while ago partly because they scan IDs at the door, and partly because the dancer quality took a nosedive.
I have not seen stellar reviews since they joined the Scores family.
Usually a branded strip club francize is going to have to be more conservative than a local dive. Mostly its the destruction of the front room action, and that poisons the back room action.
Don't let girls sell you dances, as that is a chump's game.
SJG
SJG
The Penthouse Club is SF is owned & run by Deja Vu... are all Penthouse Clubs basically Deja Vu clubs? Or perhaps the one in SF is a licensee, not part of the main franchise?