Six decades of growth has made Sally Beauty and Salon Services one of the most loved hair and beauty suppliers in the UK and Europe. Salon Services is the dynamic professional member of the Sally Europe family, the UK and Continental Europe operating arm of Sally Beauty Holdings Ltd. Each brand marque has united to become the world’s largest distributor of professional hair and beauty products by connecting retail customers and professionals with over 800 brands and 8,000 products.
This amazing story began with just one corner store in New Orleans in opening in 1964. It was the same year that a young hairdresser called Vidal Sassoon was making news with his geometric bobs and the Beatles were topping the charts. That corner store became the first step in a journey that has now spanned the world. Sally Beauty and Salon Services cover every corner of the hair and beauty industry, embracing apprentices, independent hair and beauty business owners, beauty fans, big salon groups, students, hotels, spas, and more. Serving both the trade and retail customer, they provide an unmatched service in hair and beauty – an unmatchable offering in scale, experience and expertise.
Sally Beauty now joins legacy brands such as Wahl Professional, Wella Professionals, Schwarzkopf Professional and L’Oréal Professionnel serving generations of hair and beauty professionals.
Here’s how it happened…
1964 – Sally Beauty Supply opens a single store in New Orleans and the adventure begins.
1987 – Sally conquers the UK & Ireland and, in the process opens its 500th store worldwide.
2007 – Sally acquires the enduring trade brand Salon Services, enabling the company to add a large UK business with a strong European presence and go big. Sally also acquired Beauty Express, a top supplier to the beauty and spa industry connecting with more beauty customers than ever before.
2013 – London’s calling! Sally opens its three-storey flagship store on London’s Oxford Street; the first of multiple stores in every major city in the UK and Republic of Ireland, ensuring that Sally brings their unique offering right to the customer, wherever they are.
2017 – Sally hit the 5,000 stores milestone but hasn’t stopped growing since, committing to in-person retail with an unmatched breadth of range and adding an online shopping experience, too.
2018 - Beauty Express and Salon Services merge together to become one destination for all hair and beauty professionals.
2023 – Sally Beauty/Salon Services launch their very first Professional Hair & Beauty Awards in the UK and France.
2024 – Sally Beauty/Salon Services turns 60! At the heart of this story is Sally’s love and passion for hair and beauty.
Sally Beauty and Salon Services in the UK and Republic of Ireland have grown in lockstep with the hair and beauty industries. Shaping every brand offering, store design and service standard around the professionals they serve.
Here’s a snapshot:
- Five businesses
- Stores in seven markets: UK, ROI, France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Spain
- Over 400 stores in the UK & Central Europe
- Over 235 UK stores in the UK and Ireland
- 4,000 stores worldwide
- Serves 420,000 trade customers and nearly a million retail customers across Central Europe.
- Hosts 79,822 products across 858 brands.
- 65% of all of staff are trade qualified in the hair and beauty industry.
Dara Goolsby, Senior Director of Marketing, Sally Beauty and Salon Services, says: “It’s such a privilege to celebrate this milestone and serve our amazing communities, we couldn’t have done it without them. Our commitment to innovation and delivering more for our customers keeps us laser focused on the future, a successful future that we know we will share with hair and beauty professionals across the UK and the world.”
