9th August 2026
It’s a question that I have been pondering for a long time now, should salons choose corporate or independent?
In days gone by, some salons opted for a blend of both, and this was understandable as once upon a time they got the best of both worlds ….. (previous posts will clarify this).
So why choose corporate? In my honest and humble opinion, there isn’t a solid reason to go with a high flying corporation these days. Yes, they have an amazing array of products, with advanced technologies and great performance. But when those technologies and product performance are created and ‘tested out’ in salons, the end goal for these brands is now mass market channels, as is well documents here at www.emilmcmahon.com.
And then we have independents; companies that also have an amazing array of products, with advanced technologies and great performance, but the big difference is, they are developed specifically for hairdressing salons and are not readily available everywhere. The other benefit of independents is the relationships they build with salon owners and their teams, this is something sadly missing from corporate companies these days.
Having worked for independent brands that were swallowed up by the corporate world, I am well aware of the strategies these organisations have once they have control of the companies they purchase. One only has to look at certain brands that were once upon a time, amazing salon ranges that were formulated with incredible ingredients and marketed to appeal to salons and their clients. Most of these brands are now sanitised and have lost their point of difference. Some of them are now no longer available, they have been absorbed into the corporate portfolio in a different form, which usually involves them becoming mass market brands that are cheap and cheerful.
And then there are the products that these behemoths still promote as salon professional, ranges that are available in salons but also on the high street. If a brand classes itself as professional, it surely has to be recommended by a professional as well? Now it’s apparent that there are some ‘educators’ spending time in stores on the high street, recommending to consumers the best products for their hair, products that some salons still carry. So the juxtaposition of ‘professional’ and ‘high street’ is being fused, and unfortunately this is at the cost of salon retail sales.
This approach isn’t what independent product houses do, they create amazing products, develop fantastic marketing materials, they educate salons in usage and they stay SALON PROFESSIONAL.
Corporate or independent, the choice is always down to the individual, but in a fiercely competitive retail arena, anything that helps a salonn stand out from the crowd has to be beneficial, and for me, that means INDEPENDENTS win every time.
