3rd July 2024
There’s something in the air…. can you sense it? The change that the hairdressing industry needs is happening, slowly but ever so surely. It’s the rise of the independents.
How do I know this? Well firstly, I’ve just read my latest editions of two of the UK’s biggest trade magazines, and what I noticed was the plethora of adverts, editorials, images, articles and ‘news’ posts that talk a different language than the one we have been used to for so long. The big players in our industry are still represented (of course), but there is a shift to medium sized and smaller, independent companies that seem to have the lion’s share of space in the pages of the magazines.
Perhaps this is because the behemoths (as I like to call them) are focussing their attention elsewhere, and if you read this blog regularly, you will know where elsewhere is. Maybe marketing budgets are being spent elsewhere, or being saved ready for a big big push when the festive season comes along, because every company, by now will have had to present their campaign strategies to the mass market marketing teams, and that’s going to be a budget busting exercise for sure.
Secondly, speaking to hairdressers and barbers up and down the country, there has been much chat about ‘something new’ ‘something different’ ‘something that isn’t mass market focussed’ …. this is music to my ears because I believe (and it is just my own personal belief) that as the consumer world becomes ever more experiential, salons have to create a unique environment for clients to enjoy, and part of that has to be the brands that they use in salon and recommend for home use. [We] are all looking for products that offer something new and exciting, and, going back to my first paragraph, our trade press seems to be embracing this much more now.
Of course, as I always say, salons have a choice, and some want to keep safe, stick with brands they know, irrespective of where else clients can see and purchase them from, and that is absolutely fine by me, each to their own. But for salons that want to survive in an ever challenging retail world, in ever changing landscapes, offering something different has got to be a big ticked box for existing and potential new clients.
In my book, Don’t Sell Volume 1 the option of utilising dead space in salons was looked at, with the suggestion of maybe a small independent coffee shop using the space, creating incremental revenue for salon owners, giving someone who doesn’t want to work for a mass market coffee house a chance to create something unique for them, and giving clients another reason to visit a salon. To date I am aware of 3 salons that have implemented this, and many more who have looked at their salon floor space and utilised empty areas for additional usage.
All these ideas fused together can create a hybrid, thriving independent business model, collaborating with independent product companies and like minded business people that can help salons survive the future and be unique and bespoke at the same time.
#BeIndependent #BePro #ProForPro
