SIC 7299 Miscellaneous Personal Services, Not Elsewhere Classified

SIC 7299

This industry covers establishments primarily engaged in providing personal services, not elsewhere classified. Establishments primarily engaged in operating physical fitness facilities, including health fitness spas and reducing salons, are classified in various lodging industries depending on the type of lodging provided; if they do not provide lodging they are classified in SIC 7991: Physical Fitness Facilities.

NAICS CODE(S)

624410

Child Day Care Services

812191

Diet and Weight Reducing Centers

532220

Formal Wear and Costumes Rental

812199

Other Personal Care Services

812990

All Other Personal Services

This industry encompasses a wide array of niche industries that provide personal services in one realm or another. Diverse establishments such as dating services, costume rental shops, massage parlors, scalp treatment services, tuxedo rental, escort services, baby sitting bureaus, and valet parking outfits all are placed in this miscellaneous industry classification.

An estimated 51,877 miscellaneous personal service establishments were in the United States in 2002, including 24,278 child day care services, 2,580 formal wear and costume rental companies, 12,933 diet and weight reducing centers (including all other personal care service companies) and 12,086 other miscellaneous personal services establishments. In the mid-2000s, some of the leading companies in this industry were Philadelphia-based ARAMARK Corp., with nearly $10.2 billion in 2004 sales; Weight Watchers International, headquartered in New York, with sales of more than $1 billion; GE Capital Mortgage, of Cherry Hill, New Jersey, with $1.3 billion in sales, and Unifirst Corp., of Wilmington, Massachusetts, with 2004 sales of $719.4 million.

Among the largest business segments of this industry classification are dating services, weight loss centers, and formal wear rental outlets. In 2005, the two most successful weight reducing companies that used the classroom method were Weight Watchers International and Jenny Craig, Inc., with some $280 million in 2003 sales. In an effort to expand into the non-overweight consumer market, the diet industry is expected to incorporate products and services geared toward total wellness on into the next century. Low-carbohydrate diets became increasingly popular in the early and mid-2000s, and Atkins Nutritionals led the field, with some 30 million people on the Atkins diet. The company...