Salons must innovate not despair!

HJ News Editor, Matthew Batham, reflects on hair salons need to be innovative in the midst of this recession.

At the Wella Professionals Business Network Event, which I was lucky enough to attend earlier this month, Mary Portas told delegates that to survive in the current economic climate businesses had to look after their brands and be clear about what they stand for.

She pointed to Woolworths as an example of a brand that had lost its direction

Woolworths, said Mary, had failed to react to the polarisation between luxury and value and should have pinned its flag firmly to the value mast in order to survive.

"People who own these big brands have to look after them!" she said - in that firm but fair tone of hers.

It certainly sounds like good advice, but judging from the recent list of London's Best Hairdressers published by Time Out London, it's not so much about selling either luxury or value, its more about doing what you do well - and having a point of difference. Or as Mary said in the same presentation - "Now is the time to invest in innovation!"

The Time Out favourites included salons right across the spectrum, from cost cutting Cuts, to the ultra-luxurious Richard Ward Hair and Metrospa - and everything in between.

What shone through was that every salon that made the list, had a unique proposition and delivered it with excellence.

Perhaps the most unusual proposition was Hair by Steph at the Victoria. Not actually a salon, but an east London pub that on the first Sunday of every month offers haircuts to its trendy clientele. At £20 for a women's haircut it's certainly at the value end of the market, but the Victoria is certainly investing in innovation.

This week I also spoke to Calvin Rattray, founder of Hype Coiffure - the chain of specialist Afro salons in south London.

Calvin is a great example of someone who spotted a gap in the market and filled it.

He is proof that if you do something different and do it with a commitment to expertise and investment in staff, it will succeed. Now comprising three successful salons, Hype Coiffure has won numerous prestigious awards and has helped raise the bar of the entire Afro hairdressing market.

No doubt, as the group continues to grow, Calvin will take very good care of his brand - and make Mary Portas proud!