From Monday 29 to Tuesday 30 April, Kao Salon Division welcomed nearly 100 salon partners to the stunning city of Edinburgh for its seventh HUB Network 2024 – an exclusive annual opportunity for salon partners to fuel their salon growth, make lasting connections with other HUB salon business owners, and ignite their salon business success.
This year, held at the luxurious 5-star Waldorf Astoria Edinburgh – The Caledonian – a former rail station, now a masterpiece of luxury and Victorian elegance, offering breath-taking views of Edinburgh Castle – the HUB Network membership club is renowned for transforming the way salon professionals connect, exchange ideas, collaborate, and excel in their craft to stay ahead of the curve in this ever-evolving industry.
The enriching two-day event featuring inspirational business presentations; insights and advice from expert speakers, also offered guests a luxury overnight stay plus an unforgettable evening including a sumptuous dining event and incredible entertainment.
Here’s everything that happed at HUB Network 2024…
HUB Network 2024 Guest Speakers – Day 1:
Geoff Ramm – Celebrity Service ‘Discovering the Gap in Your Service you Never Knew Existed’
Geoff Ramm, a Forbes-lauded ‘Game Changer’ and award-winning speaker, is the creator of ‘Celebrity Service’ and ‘OMG Marketing’. He understands that the key to attracting more customers is through creating jaw-dropping marketing, and the key to retaining those customers is by providing exceptional customer service.
Geoff started the session by asking the audience what they rate themselves and their business out of 10. With the average answer being 8 out of 10, Geoff’s session focused on ‘celebrity service’ and helping guests learn how to go the extra mile and exceed expectations to bridge that gap, explaining that it’s all about changing your mindset and thinking differently to offer a unique and special experience.
Segun Akinwoleola – Building a Brand from Zero to Hero
Segun is the founder of The Gym Kitchen, a pioneering brand that offers high-protein, macro-friendly ready meals tailored for health-conscious, on-the-go individuals. Segun is deeply committed to entrepreneurship and advocates for diversity within the consumer goods sector, driving positive change and innovation in the industry.
In this session, the audience listened as Segun shared his story on how he built his brand. He told guests believing in your vision and listening to feedback are key, it’s not bad to fail if you learn from it, and customers and community are everything.
Lurata Lyon – Mental Health, Human Resilience, and Overcoming Obstacles
Lurata is a motivational speaker, public speaking, and presentation coach. At 17 years of age, Lurata fell victim of kidnap by a Human Trafficking and Organ Harvesting gang during the split of former Yugoslavia. With a story unlike any other, Lurata shared her journey of resilience and triumph, stemming from her own harrowing experiences.
Lurata opened up about her struggles, lessons learned, and the unwavering strength that carried her through. Guests were urged to discover the power of mindset, determination, resilience, and their own strengths, both personally and professionally as she told them: “Don’t undervalue yourself.”
And that was a wrap for Day 1! After the speakers, guests were invited on an exclusive Hotel History Tour. Dinner was next on the itinerary at rooftop restaurant, Chaophraya, Edinburgh where attendees were treated to welcome drinks and had the chance to network all while taking in the stunning rooftop views. Guests then enjoyed a three course meal, before the DJ hit the decks and then of course, danced the night away, true hairdresser style!
HUB Network 2024 Guest Speakers – Day 2:
Jaz Ampaw-Farr – How to Be 10% Braver
CEO and co-founder of Be Human First Ltd, Jaz Ampaw-Farr is a speaker and self-described ‘resilience ninja’ whose infectious enthusiasm is incredibly motivating. Opening the event on Day 2, Jaz seamlessly combined humour and storytelling to deliver a transformative presentation that left the audience inspired for real change.
The interactive session had the audience asking themselves ‘why do we criticise ourselves when we wouldn’t anyone else?’, what success looks like to them, and ‘how do you know how to be braver when you don’t know where you’re going?’
She asked: “Why aren’t you living with nothing to fear, nothing to prove, and nothing to lose?” before giving guests top tips and steps to being ‘fear fighters’, ‘resilience ninjas’, and ‘positive disruptors’.
Nina Giglio – Key Trends in Hair and Beauty
Nina Giglio is a São Paulo-born, London-based creative thinker and storyteller, specialising in trends, branding, and marketing. With over a decade of experience in the trends and beauty industry, Nina brought a unique mix of expertise to beauty trends, blending innovation with an understanding of consumer behaviour and market dynamics.
The audience were given an in-depth insight into the three main beauty drivers shaping the industry in 2025 and beyond and an explanation of the different consumer profiles and tips on how to win them, before delving deep into the beauty trends we can expect to see and how to incorporate them into your salon.
Jules Standish – How to Create a Unique Customer Colour Experience
Jules, known as ‘The Colour Counsellor’, is a leading UK colour expert and Head of Colour at the London College of Style. She’s authored books including ‘How NOT to Wear Black’, and Amazon bestseller, ‘A Colourful Dose of Optimism’, as well as appeared on TV shows like The Lorraine Kelly Breakfast Show.
Jules gave an insight into the importance of personalising colour trends, colour analysis, and colour psychology before sharing in-depth information on seasonal colour palettes and which clients fell into the different seasonal categories. This session highlighted the importance of pushing someone out of their comfort zone to feel great and more confident.
Arif Isikgun – Retail Excellence and The Power of Storytelling
Arif Isikgun has over 17 years of immense experience working in all levels of beauty, luxury retail and spa, launching and educating brands globally. His vision was simple – ‘always innovating beauty’, to innovate emotional connection and empower teams to support not only exceptional client services but brand services, ensuring full company potential and growth.
For the last session of the event, Arif spoke about the art of selling. He said: “We think we sell products – we don’t. We sell emotion.” He then went on to highlight the importance of why sales education is so important in the salon as it empowers staff, builds confidence in communication, improves client satisfaction, and enhances product sell.
He stressed the importance of creating that fundamental want through emotional connection, how the consultation and the close are the most fundamental steps, and that clients are 40% more likely to close a sale through touch in a retail setting!
The audience then took part in a workshop led by Arif where they worked together in groups to come up with a story to sell a product.
Speaking of the event, Julie Winchester, General Manager, Kao Salon Division UK, Ireland said:
“Our annual Kao Salon HUB Network event offers our salon partners an incredible opportunity to come together as a community of creatives. It’s a chance to hear from some of the world’s best speakers about the latest business insights, tools, and resources that they need to excel and thrive both in business and creatively in a rapidly evolving industry. We want to empower our salon community to reach even higher levels of success, supporting them in every way we can. The HUB Network is testament to our dedication to the success of our salon partners and our passion for driving both creative and business innovation in the industry. We hope all of our customers left feeling empowered, inspired, and ready to put into practice the practical insights and inspiration from our amazing speakers to help support and grow their own salon business.”
Be sure to watch our reel on everything we got up to, below!
