The National Hair & Beauty Federation is warning that the government may have just placed the final nail in the coffin for already struggling salons and barbershops without urgent and targeted financial support. This stark warning comes as the new Tier and Level 4 restrictions are set to cost hair and beauty businesses across the UK more than £124million per week in lost income, killing off many previously profitable businesses, and making thousands of people unemployed. (see table below)

The NHBF Key Industry Statistics 2020 report demonstrates the continued growth of the hair and beauty industry prior to COVID-19. This is in contrast with November NHBF data which indicated 62% of salon owners could not be sure their business would survive until the end of the financial year in April 2021, and almost a third of that number (18%) explicitly sure they would have to close.

The report, compiled in exclusive association with the Local Data Company (LDC), shows that at the beginning of the year barbershops, beauty salons and nail salons were the top three retail categories that saw the highest growth in the UK – above supermarkets, coffee shops, takeaways and pizza shops.

According to the Office for National Statistics there are nearly 45,000 hair and beauty salon businesses in the UK (a rise of over 1,000 since last year), which generated over £8bn in turnover in 2018, up from £7.5bn in 2017.

And the industry had continued to prop up ailing high streets, with hair and beauty businesses pre COVID-19 having higher survival rates after five years than many other sectors, in particular nail salons whose survival rate after five years was 69%.

Richard Lambert, NHBF chief executive said, “The Key Industry Statistics report paints a picture of a strong and growing industry with business survival rates bucking the decline of the high street. It is characterised by a high percentage of female entrepreneurs, supporting young people into careers and its posiive approach to flexible working.

However, this was before the coronavirus pandemic and we know from our recent targeted surveys that the majority of hair and beauty professionals are struggling to recoup their losses from lockdowns, implementing social distancing measures and the costs of increased PPE. Whilst we appreciate these are all necessary, the sector has not received any additional financial support such as those gifted to the arts, the sports sector, leisure or hospitality. Businesses simply cannot continue on this basis and we are continuing our pressure on the government to recognise this. Financial help to salons and professionals during this difficult time will be the only way to ensure the hair and beauty sector can return to where it was at the beginning of 2020.”

Cost per region:

Region	Number of Salons	Lost Revenue Per Week
London	7,015	£16million
South East	5,425	£35million
North East	2,020	£5million
North West	5,425	£17million
East Midlands	2,980	£11million
West Midlands	3,815	£14million
Total England		£98million
Scotland	3,810	£17million
Wales	2,155	£6million
Northern Ireland	1,560	£3million
Total UK		£124million

The full statistical tables are available free to NHBF Members, or for £250 to non-members.

Unfortunately, due to the increased levels of transmission of Covid-19 throughout England, more areas have been placed into Tier 4 restrictions, meaning that more barbershops have unfortunately been forced to close as we welcome the new year.

In an announcement made on 30th December, the UK Government Health Secretary Matt Hancock advised that the entire South-East, large parts of the Midlands, North-East and South West would move into the higher Tier, thus forcing closure of all close contact service businesses.

The full list of locations in Tier 4 can be located here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/full-list-of-local-restriction-tiers-by-area

We hope everyone in the affected areas stays safe and hopefully can successfully return to work and reopen their businesses as soon as possible.

Following a year like no other, Schedulicity have continued to adapt and support the hair and beauty industry. CEO Jerry Nettuno has outlined plans to further support the sector with an incredibly generous pledge for 2021 in a personal letter which can be read below.

We salute Jerry and his incredible team for their relentless support of hair and beauty professionals.

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We often say that successful businesses are a sum of their parts. 

You know this well. You built your business one client at a time, grew your revenue with every appointment, and proved your passion each and every time you fit someone in last-minute or after-hours. 

Schedulicity is a business built on hard work and passion, too. We owe our success to people like you — stylists, barbers, personal trainers, massage therapists, estheticians, yoga instructors, reiki healers, music teachers, chiropractors, nail artists, and every other service provider who’s trusted to simplify their days. You are our community. 

Some Thoughts on 2020

None of us could have predicted what came our way last spring, but if there’s one thing we all learned during these unprecedented times, it’s that community means everything. This year, we learned how to ask for help from the people around us and — as important —  how to offer it.

That’s why, as soon as we realized that shutdowns were going to profoundly affect our businesses, we knew we needed to throw our resources into supporting you in any way that we could. We waived all our fees through the height of the pandemic (and expanded that period for California businesses). We built our Tip Jar feature to allow clients, family, and friends to tip you even when they couldn’t see you. 

We also launched our Town Hall webinar series with industry experts, wrote dozens of articles on how to navigate COVID-19 regulations and shut-downs, and expanded our small business grant program,Schedulicity Cares, to give multiple businesses support every week. 

We tried to find every chance we could to support our community, to sense when you needed us most, and to be there in whatever way we could. All told, in 2020, we gave service providers $250,000 in aid. 

2021: The Year of Service

We’re not done. It’s now my pleasure to end an incredibly difficult year on a high note:

In 2021, we’re pledging to award $250,000 more support to service providers everywhere. 

As the world reopens over the next few months, each one of us will have the chance to lift up our communities in countless ways, big and small. Let’s take them. Let’s take them all.

The beautiful thing about service providers is that you support your communities simply by doing what you do. We need you. And that’s why, for Schedulicity, our Year of Service means finding new ways to help you do better work. We’re going to be right there with you as you rebuild, recover, and grow.

Until we’re able to gather together again over dinner tables, at holiday parties, and in our favorite salon waiting rooms, I’m wishing you and yours all my best from Bozeman, Montana. It’s a new year coming, and we’re looking forward to spending more of it with you.

Happy holidays, friends. 
Jerry

A barber from Giffnock, Scotland, went above and beyond for his clients, by opening his shop on Christmas Day.

Tony Mann’s Barber Shop opened up on December 25th, in order to provide clients the opportunity to get a haircut, prior to the impending Scotland-wide lockdown, which meant that all barbershops would require to close as of Boxing Day.

Owner Tony Mann commented, “I wanted to ensure all my loyal customers looked sharp for the next three weeks,” he said. “They have been good to us since we reopened earlier this year, so it’s one way for me to give back. Christmas Day was really the last day that they can get a haircut. We had a lot of people coming in – those who celebrate Christmas and those who don’t. It was humbling to see them before we shut.”

All barbershops in Scotland have now closed due to the ongoing Covid restrictions, with a minimum closure period of three weeks, subject to review in due course.

Ivan Zoot has published his new book, The Professional Haircutter’s Pricing Playbook.

How much should you charge for your haircuts?

When should you raise your haircut price?

How do you raise your haircut price?

In this new book, Ivan provides clear and actionable answers to these and other haircut pricing questions.

This unique workbook format lets you plug-and-play your pricing numbers, creating custom data and planning that is specific to your business. It is like having your own personal coaching session every time you pick up the book.

You can refer back to the book time and time again. Plugging in updated statistics lets you make the next round of pricing decisions with accuracy and confidence. The book grows with you as you build business.

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What people are saying about Ivan’s pricing coaching and support:

“Ivan’s coaching on pricing is always spot-on. I have made a lot more money by taking his pricing advice.”   – KW, Illinois

“Pricing issues scare me. Ivan makes the process of setting and increasing haircut prices logical and comfortable. I feel way better about it.”    – TB, North Carolina

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Books are available on the ivanzoot.com website or at amazon.com.

Copies for media inspection (digital pdf) are available upon request.

For more information contact Ivan Zoot at ivanzoot@yahoo.com or call 224.234.4987.

Fancy a haircut at 3am? Well, thanks to Edinburgh based salon Stag Barber Co , you can do just that – and all for an amazing cause.

Earlier this month gender-free salon Stag shared the heart-breaking story of their team member Nicole, who suffered the loss of her child at 29 weeks.

On the 23rd of December, owner of Stag, Murray McRae, will be cutting hair for 24-hours straight, with all profits going towards SIMba, a baby loss charity whose memory box helped Nicole and her partner Jordan during their difficult time.

Murray will be standing on the spot, scissors flying from 08.30am on Wednesday all the way through to 08.30am on Christmas Eve.

The salon team came up with the idea after their plan to give £1 from every December appointment to SIMba has been cut short by the impending lockdown.

“2020 has felt like a marathon as it is,” said owner Murray McRae,

“We heard about salons and barbershops in London working round the clock to get clients in before lockdown. So we thought why not do something similar – but for a good cause.

“SIMba was an unbelievable help to our Nicole when she lost her first child Isaac.  To commemorate his birth, and to celebrate the birth of her daughter Iva, born almost a year to the date after the loss, we wanted to give her this Christmas gift.”

Haircuts will be the usual price with all ‘after-hours’ profits going to SiMBA. In-house coffee shop Stag Espresso will be on hand with free coffee to fuel Murray and his early hours customers through the trims. Murray will be in full marathon running wear complete with sweat bands etc on the day and throughout the night.

Barbers and hairdressers in Scotland are required to close their doors for three weeks from Boxing Day following the announcement of the country’s post-Christmas Day full lockdown.

You can book your appointment here – or, if you can’t make it along, you can donate to Stag’s JustGiving page for SiMBA here. https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/stagbarbernicole

Following a recent spike in Covid-19 infection rates, the Prime Minister has announced a new ‘Tier 4’ for London and parts of the South East and the East of England.

This will come into force from Sunday 20th December.

Barbershops, salons and beauty parlours can continue to stay open in all Tiers 1-3 elsewhere in England.

In Northern Ireland, all close contact businesses must close on Boxing Day – for what will be a 6-week long lockdown, subject to a review after 4-weeks.

In Wales, all close contact businesses will shut on December 19th as part of a level 4 lockdown which will be reviewed in three weeks.

In Scotland, all beauty salons, hairdressers and barbers must close for three weeks from Boxing Day.

These are concerning times for all barbershops and beauty salons throughout the UK, our thoughts are with each and every one of you at this difficult and challenging time.

Wahl Clipper Corporation is joining forces with Disney and Pixar to celebrate the new movie, “Soul,” streaming on Disney+ starting on December 25th. The movie highlights the importance of finding oneself and discovering what makes you, you.  Through Joe Gardner’s journey to find the spark of life, he winds up leaning on his community to feel connected. In one pivotal scene, Joe visits his trusted barber to get the encouragement he needs and realizes the barbershop community–which serves as the backbone of the neighborhood—may not just be a place to get your hair cut, but it’s also a place of gathering, learning and a home-away-from-home.

“Soul” introduces Joe Gardner (voice of Jamie Foxx) – a middle-school band teacher who gets the chance of a lifetime to play at the best jazz club in town. But one small misstep takes him from the streets of New York City to The Great Before – a fantastical place where new souls get their personalities, quirks, and interests before they go to Earth. Determined to return to his life, Joe teams up with a precocious soul, 22 (voice of Tina Fey), who has never understood the appeal of the human experience. As Joe desperately tries to show 22 what’s great about living, he may just discover the answers to some of life’s most important questions.

Wahl Professional has created a limited-edition clipper with a commemorative “Soul”-branded design and package. The clipper will be available on Wahlpro.com starting December 17^th. The tool is one of the clipper manufacturer’s iconic models – the Cordless Senior – which is equipped with a metal taper lever and switch, three premium cutting guides, and a fade blade designed for precision cutting. The clipper is priced at $159.

“We’re thrilled to celebrate the launch of “Soul” with Disney and Pixar. The movie’s themes of community, caring, and finding one’s spark will resonate with hair professionals, who consider their profession as a way to make a difference in someone’s life, not just a way to make a living,” says Lance Wahl, global vice president of professional products.  “Barbers and stylists are at the heart of their communities, and at Wahl Clipper Corporation we’ve made it our life’s work to support them as well as the next generation of aspiring barbers and stylists.”

Wahl Professional is proud to celebrate “Soul” and encourage everyone find their spark. To purchase the limited-edition “Soul” clipper click here. Disney and Pixar’s “Soul” streams on Disney+ starting on December 25^th. To learn more about Wahl Clipper Corporation visit their website at Wahlpro.com or follow them on Instagram at @wahlpro.

Without question one of our most random news stories in 2020, is that McDonald’s in Sweden have opened a barbershop offering one specific cut, the 90’s inspired ‘Golden M’ haircut.

We know it’s a bit of an advertising stunt with a difference, as the so called ‘Golden M’ haircut is essentially a center part, or ‘curtains’ as our team knew from the 90’s… but McDonald’s Sweden allege that the cut is similar to the fast food chain’s famous Golden Arches logo. Who are we to disagree?

Influencer hairstylist Adam Lukacs provided virtual haircut lessons to those fortunate enough to book in digital appointments. Ensuring that ‘clients’ can confirm that they do indeed have the ‘Golden M’ haircut perfected.

Those who took a virtual session, were not only treated to some 90’s inspired haircut lessons, but also, and perhaps most importantly, were treated to a complimentary Big Mac – should their haircuts pass the McDonald’s Golden M Detector digital app.

Good fun ensued!

The Vocational Training Charitable Trust (VTCT) have appointed a new Chair and Vice-Chair for their board of trustees.

Jenny Sworder is the new Chair, following 7 years as a trustee on the board and also previously being the Vice-Chair. Jenny has extensive experience in the Beauty and Retail Industry (over 20 years) with the likes of Fenwick’s stores, the Fragrance Foundation UK and the Cosmetics Executive Women UK.

She takes over from Professor Dr Chris Laws, who is retiring after 10 dedicated years of voluntary service as both a trustee and Chair to VTCT.

On taking up the new role, Jenny said, “I am delighted to take forward the great work that Chris has done for VTCT, over the past ten years. During this time he has helped to steer VTCT to being the wonderful organisation it is today. I look forward to further building upon this and tackling the new challenges within vocational and technical education, ensuring that learners remain at the heart of what we do as a modern and progressive Awarding Organisation.”

Jenny will be joined by Isabel Sutcliffe, the new Vice-Chair of VTCT. We wish them both the very best of luck in the new roles!