Hype coiffure leading the way in afro hairdressing
Hype Coiffure has built a reputation as a leading Afro-Caribbean hairdresser, attracting clients from a wide catchment area and receiving numerous accolades for its service and the skills of its talented staff.
Ironically, perhaps, the man behind the salon chain is not a hairdresser. Calvin Rattray founded the original Hype Coiffure salon 14 years ago in Balham, South London, using his background in business and the knowledge and creativity of his hairdresser wife, Anne, to build the foundations of his Afro-Caribbean salon empire.
Calvin's original vision was to create a chain of salons that would provide first-class hairdressing services in a welcoming environment at affordable prices - ultimately becoming the Afro-Caribbean equivalent of Toni & Guy. With salons already established in Battersea, Balham and Brixton, he's made a good start.
"I realised there was a gap in the market for a professional, high-end salon group that specialised in Afro hair," says Calvin. "As I learnt more about the skill and science involved in 
hairdressing, my enthusiasm for the industry grew and I became incredibly passionate about opening a salon to give stylists the platform to showcase their creativity and professionalism.
"Since opening the first salon in 1995, we've strived to set new standards in Afro hairdressing and would like to think that through our expertise and professionalism, for which we have received 28 awards in less than six years, we've contributed to raising the bar."
Balham was chosen as the original salon site after research revealed a high level of potential clients but a low number of professional Afro hair salons in the area and across south west London in general. "As a new salon we also knew it was essential to be close to amenities and transport links. Despite needing a lot of work, the site was close to a train station, had strong footfall and was exactly what we were looking for."
The next major challenge was to find staff of a high enough calibre. Says Calvin: "In the beginning it wasn't easy finding stylists well trained in Afro hair and who shared our ethos that training, professionalism and quality of service are paramount. We found that training our staff in-house from junior level was the most successful approach - our current team includes a general manager and two assistant managers who all joined us as apprentices."
The initial efforts of the team to promote the professional ethos of the salon were so successful that it also attracted a large non-Afro clientele.
"As we focused our PR efforts on the Afro market, targeting black consumer hair magazines, our Afro-Caribbean clientele grew," says Calvin. "But while we now have a strong Afro and mixed race client base, we still have a number of European-haired clients who come to us for extensions, colour and precision cutting."
Developing creativity
The initial commitment to training staff has continued to form the basis of the group's success. Says Calvin: "In-house training is of utmost importance to Hype Coiffure, as it enables us to not only develop our staff from entry to management level, it also helps us to develop our stylists' creativity.
"As well as holding weekly training evenings for our junior members and regular leadership programmes for our more senior staff, we also host an annual competition where our budding junior stylists can showcase their talents and compete to win a host of coveted titles."
Now the business model has been established in London, Calvin has plans to take the Hype Coiffure brand national. "Our ultimate goal has always been to expand the business throughout the country," he says. "It was important to get the model right in London first, but now we have done that, expansion nationally is definitely something we are looking at in the future."
In the short term the plan is to grow the London presence, with up to six additional salons and a training academy - after this franchising on a national basis will be considered.
Calvin recognises that, thanks partly to the success of his own salon group, the Afro Caribbean hair market is a more competitive business than it was 14 years ago.
He says: "Since I began working within the industry, the Afro hairdressing sector has come on in leaps and bounds. More European hair salons are incorporating Afro services and the market is becoming more competitive, as Afro salons have been made to raise their bar.
"As more salon owners come to understand that with the right education and training Afro hairdressing is a profitable addition to a salon menu, I think it will continue to go from strength to strength."
