Andrew barton - how hairdressing can ride the recession

As usual at this time of the year, I have been crazy busy and this last couple of days I have worked 9am-9pm and 7am-9pm in the salon to fit in as many clients as I possibly can because I have decided to take a long Christmas break.

If you add in the fact that I spent the start of the week filming for 10 Years Younger - which is back on your screens in the new year - it's no wonder that I am Red-Bulled up at 9am in the mornings!

It has been a really hectic year and I am really looking forward to the rest and the chance to prepare for the year ahead and I hope that a lot of my friends in the industry will do the same.

There is no doubt that the year ahead will be an interesting time; clients are making cuts last longer, trying to extend the time between colour appointments and being much more careful about what they buy in terms of retail.

But, as I said in a recent interview with the FT, I actually see it as a really exciting time for the hairdressing industry.

I think it will make us very lean and really look at everything we do from customer service to retail to providing great hair cuts and most importantly listening to the needs of our clients.

As a business, hairdressing can be quite egotistical sometimes and we get carried away with the creativity, but I think that ultimately we are a customer service industry and the clients' needs are absolutely paramount. 

In times of boom some people may have got a sloppy, but this is where the real honest delivery of great advice and great hair cuts comes to the fore and there will not be any room for complacency or laziness.

It is actually something that we have been looking onto a lot with Saks and in particular with our new Saksappeal collection, which is all about really friendly, beautiful looks that are completely wearable.

But Saksappeal is more than just a collection, it is the thrust for all of our business strategy in the year ahead. In this economic climate, we are looking at every aspect of the business and asking 'does this have Saksappeal?'

I am sure other hairdressing businesses are starting to analyse themselves in the same sort of way and I have to say that our industry's constant development of young talent and innovative thinking puts us in the best possible place to ride this recession.

I'm off for a lovely break now; so I wish you all a Happy Christmas and I'll be back next year with my regular updates!

Saksappeal Collection