Mario Tricoci, the salon and spa icon, announced that the Tricoci family acquired Mario Tricoci Hair Salon & Day Spa from their former partners and investors. The family sold a majority interest 17 years ago but has once again assumed full control of Mario Tricoci Hair Salon and Day Spa.

WHO: Mario Tricoci and his wife Cheryl launched the first of their famed salons and spas in the Woodfield Mall in 1976. The company grew into one of the largest and most well-respected salon and spa businesses in the United States. Today the business consists of 14 salons and day spas and 2 smaller salons, and employs more than 1,300 industry professionals throughout the Chicago market.

IN THEIR OWN WORDS: Mario stated, “First and foremost I am a stylist and have more to share with this magnificent industry – an industry that has given me so much. We have fabulous plans for cutting-edge innovation and new and improved services and products. We look forward to advancing this vision with our team and experiencing it with our guests very soon. Our renowned and oft celebrated team remains. This is a very exciting time for our company. It is a family business once again!”

“North Castle has been a wonderful partner for us and we’ve gotten along extremely well,” Tricoci told Crain’s Chicago Business. “Being as passionate a man as I am in regards to what I do, I believe the Tricoci family will once again be at the forefront of the beauty industry.”

DETAILS:

• The Tricoci family sold a majority interest in the Mario Tricoci Hair Salon and Day Spa business 17 years ago but has once again assumed full control.
• North Castle Partners, is a Greenwich, Conn.-based private-equity firm that has owned it since 2000.
• Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
• The Tricoci business includes 14 salons and day spas in the Chicago market, plus two smaller salons that do not offer spa services.
• Press coverage after North Castle’s purchase put the salon chain’s annual revenue at $60 million in 2000; in an interview, Tricoci said the business was “worth the same, maybe more.”
• Under North Castle ownership, the Tricoci business merged with Elizabeth Arden, one of the largest salon and spa chains in the country.

Read why Mario Tricoci is buying back his beauty empire in Chicago Magazine.