BEAUTY BUSINESS as usual

As the third wave of Covid-19 hit India with the upsurge of the Omicron variant, the professional beauty industry held a long breath in. Will Omicron disrupt all that was painstakingly rebuilt in the last few months? Will it plunge us into another lockdown? Many such questions assailed our minds as we grappled with daily updates on the Omicron slow-burn. In this feature, Kanishka Ramchandani explores the impact of the third wave on the salon business.

The salon industry in India and across the world proved the maxim that ‘necessity is the mother of invention’ during the Covid-19 pandemic. From online training to minimum touch services and from home services to retail delivery, we witnessed a multi-level change in business models for salons. Salon owners and beauty professionals did their best to remain creative and to be of service to the end customer while maintaining stringent safety protocols. By the end of 2021, the industry was at the forefront of the service sector in adhering to rules. Although profitability was low, business was running smoothly and most salons were on a recovery mode.

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

With the dawn of 2022, hope of better business prospects came mingled with fear of the third wave. Metros such as Mumbai and Delhi were already witnessing the third wave by mid-January. State governments across the country, especially in Delhi and Maharashtra, tightened Covid-19 protocols for wearing masks and maintaining social distancing. The salon industry in Maharashtra breathed a sigh of relief when the government reversed the decision of keeping salons, spas and gyms shut and allowed for 50% occupancy. By the time the third wave peaked and the graphs started declining, it was business as usual for salons and spas.

Vikram Bhatt, Founder, Enrich, explained, “We did our own homework, aligned with international advisories such as WHO, CIDESCO and updated quality and hygiene guidelines that we followed during the first opening up post the lockdown. Our guidelines have been the same since then and we also have been trying to be consistent with 100 per cent compliance to these by regular audits.”

“Additionally what we have done is to add to these, based on the knowledge that has been forthcoming over the three waves,” he said.

Even as the third wave was receding there were talks of a fourth wave, which has thankfully not materialised. Every announcement on the discovery of a new variant or rise in the number of positive cases is enough to send the media in a frenzy and the public in a panic mode. This definitely casts a spell of uncertainty over the service sector. Bhatt elaborated, “The human mind is hugely resilient and our learning curve as a race is dramatically sharp. So, while grappling with the uncertainty the first time around took time to process, by combining resources and working out an implementation plan, now the template is set. We managed the second wave better than the first one and now the third better than the second. And we are certain, it’s the same with customers.”

INVENTORY MANAGEMENT One of the biggest challenges that salons faced during the lockdown was inventory management and handling dead stock. Since the first lockdown was sudden and the novel coronavirus spread rapidly, there was not much in terms of stock management that salons could do. Offering doorstep delivery of retail products was one format that worked but it still didn’t rule out the possibility of inventory wastage. However, salons were better prepared during the third wave and also had a modus operandi in place for inventory management. Manchanda explained, “This is the best time to reorganise ourselves. Money saved is money earned. Order cycle should be broken on a weekly basis. Strike better bargains with the vendors. This is the time to reinvent yourself and the way you work.”

When asked about inventory management at the Enrich chain of salon and any advice that he could offer, Bhatt enlisted the following pointers:

● We are dissatisfied with how we are faring currently, we know we need to do better.

● We are making significant investments in getting this right and are trying to manage it better every month than the previous month.

● There is still a long way to go before we will be in a position to offer advice to others.

GROWTH AND CHALLENGES

The Indian salon industry has painstakingly rebuilt itself in the past two years. All the stakeholders in the supply chain were heavily affected by the pandemic, and each one had to make corrections along the way to sustain their position in the market. Given the current situation when the pandemic is under control but uncertainty looms, we asked our experts on their outlook for the future. Manchanda said, “To be honest both the Geetanjali brand and the salon industry will grow. A few years ago, no one had imagined that a salon would have a CEO or a marketing head or an IT expert. But all that is happening today. There is a lot of scope for the salon industry as tier two and three cities are also growing.”

Bhatt added, “The need for every human being to look good and feel good is a very primordial one, and hence in the long term our business can only do better and better. Brands and companies that will be able to not just navigate these times and survive but also adapt and scale up will end up with a higher share of the pie. At the same time, it will be a very challenging time for those who cannot adapt as they will lose their share to those who can.”

Although the future looks promising, it isn’t without its set of challenges. The Indian salon industry always had its own unique set of problems such as social norms, lack of proper training, etc. As businesses stabilise and get on a growth path, what are the challenges that they are likely to face?

Bhatt feels that momentum is critical to any business and the biggest challenge is to manage this with every wave and ensure the customer experience and employee experience has minimal impact.

“To make your entire team perform in a choreographed manner using processes and technology is key. Even more important is the culture that binds people and ensures all energies are focussed in a single direction.

Thankfully with the excellent manner in which the vaccination drive has been conducted in the country, and the state of preparedness of medical infrastructure, the impact of the third wave has been managed well,” he asserted.

According to Manchanda, the broader challenges besetting the industry due to the pandemic are likely to continue. He enlists less profitability, high salaries, lack of support from landlords and lesser walk-ins as the key concerns.

Duggal asserted, “Both customers and hairdressers know the trends, thanks to social media. But knowing what is trending is not enough for a hairdresser. He needs to be trained at executing a particular look or colour. Educating and upgrading the Indian hairdresser on how to create the looks and techniques that are trending globally is important. A lot of transformation has happened in the clients, too. They have started accepting new trends almost instantly. With the right education, we are trying to bridge that gap between what look the customer wants and how the hairdresser can create it.”

Salon businesses will continue to grapple with challenges -new and old. The ability of each enterprise to evolve with time and to adapt speedily to change will help them sustain in the long run. Hygiene is a mandatory part of the personal service sector, so pandemic or no pandemic, it has to be strictly adhered to. Exciting developments are also happening that are making the salon business more exciting for owners and professionals alike. Srivastava pointed out, “We are also expecting a lot of international haircare brands to come to India.

There are also many areas wherein retail products are quite exciting. Advanced services will come into play by the end of this year or next year, and you will see consumers asking for more. You won’t be able to just get them off with a basic facial. They will want treatment and value-added results -they will want science. They are also willing to pay, provided you deliver. The salon industry is all about touch and feel; it is not an online thing. The segment is sensorial and that’s where the fun is.”

With the use of technology, smart inventory management solutions and effective staff management, salons can cut losses and improve the bottom line. We will per usual keep an eye on how developments take place in the industry, bring expert views in the picture and keep you abreast of India’s beauty business.