The future of retailing in your salon

Retail is fundamental to the ultimate salon experience, and achieving significant spend in this area should be plain sailing, especially if you have an enticing merchandising concept and your clients want to recreate looks at home.

That said, in most salons there remains considerable room for improvement - 90%* of all hair products bought in the UK are purchased in shops or online, in stark contrast with Australia where the majority of hair products are bought in salon due to the allure of expert advice.

During economic downturns consumers deprive themselves of major extravagances and take pleasure instead from small indulgences. The salon has the potential to be a guilt-free purchasing paradise, with the correct homecare regime cementing the relationship between hair professional and client.

For maximum profit potential it's essential to choose brands that accurately reflect the needs and aspirations of your client base.

George Phouli, operations director of Rush London and winner of HJ's 2009 British Hairdressing Business Awards Retail Salon of the Year, has very definite ideas on diversity.

"Provide your clients with a wide selection of retail products to choose from. Multi-branding offers greater choices for clients and different price points, from boutique brands to mainstream labels, there's a product range to suit every client's pocket."

Dovetail your range

In order to dovetail your range selection to public demand, consider the age, sex and spending power of your clients.

The young, hip crowd will identify with urban-cool retail offerings, while the green brigade will be attracted to eco-friendly lines.

Whatever you focus on, don't give clients an excuse to review their spending patterns because of scruffy presentation or because you're out of stock of their usual purchases.

Promotions and forward planning 

Jason Brierley of Hair @ Jibe in Carlisle is another red-hot retailer and he makes a strong argument for forward planning and focused promotions.

"Plan ahead as to which areas of your retail sales you'll focus on over the coming year, whether it's shampoo, irons; summer or Christmas sets, and train your team to effectively push this message through."

He believes that forward planning should be combined with a note of caution. "Always work within your budget, and be careful that you're never over-stocked as this is dead money.

"Once your retail starts to increase don't think that you can let up a little, it just means you need to work even harder."

Value-added service

With professional product prices packing a punch - as many as 80% of consumers surveyed by Mintel think they're too expensive - having the vision and the vocabulary to create a boutique shopping experience is vital.

This value-added service will make that shampoo or styler appear better value for money.

It's ironic that much of the responsibility for retailing falls to the younger, most inexperienced team members when what's needed is peerless product knowledge to give the client an incentive to purchase. "Introduce role-play exercises into staff training so that backwash-based conversation sounds natural and knowledgeable," suggests Jason.

Size doesn't have to matter

Smaller salons where space is at a premium can also enjoy a large slice of retail action by being industrious and creating a powerful selling environment.

"The art of successful retailing even for small salons is to be convincing. There are many thriving small restaurants so size doesn't have to matter," states Simon Ostler TIGI managing director for European Operations,

"The products on offer have to be convincing too so think about what it is that you're trying to say through your retail offering.

There are also some great and simple retail ideas to help small salons maximise retailing opportunities. Invest in a few trays and put one on each dressing out unit. Once the client has returned from the backwash simply put the shampoo and conditioner best suited to their hair on the tray and then add the styling products needed to recreate the desired look. The fact that the 'prescription' products are placed professionally in front of them can influence many clients to buy."

Changing face of retail

Most salon owners are familiar with these principles of successful retailing, even if they don't always pursue them to the letter, but there are respected players in the industry who think that retail is due a shake-up inspired by the supermarkets and other heavy-hitting high street retailers.

One of these is Hellen Ward, managing director of Richard Ward Hair & Metrospa, London. "We've all seen that the mass retailers can recession-proof themselves with big discounts, buy-one-get-one frees and three-for-twos passing these costs directly onto the manufacturers/suppliers.

"Consumers are happy, because they feel the retailer understands their need for cost-consciousness, while being totally oblivious to who's really paying for this generosity. It's a cut-throat industry and shelf position and promotional ends are no accident.

Power to salons

"Apply this template to the hair industry and a brand that's established first through the professional sector has a greater opportunity of becoming a must-have top seller both in the mass market and online, so it could be considered a sensible, viable move for us to consider salon retail areas in the same way and 'sell' our space.

"If it's not happening yet, it will in the future. The days of salons paying for huge opening orders and even spending money on branded merchandising units - not theirs, but the suppliers - are, in my opinion, numbered - and if I'm right, the future of retailing will be very different, with popular salons the power players in the relationship."

 

* Mintel 2008 Hair Salon Products report