For hair color trends and celebrity hair, colorists turn to The Colorist. Celebrity hair, hair color ideas, hair color products and more.
Issue link: https://thecoloristmag.epubxp.com/i/533403
38 The Colorist | JULY/AUGUST 2015 | thecoloristmag.com W ith new locations popping up around the country every month, salon suites—full-service beauty destinations comprising a collection of individually operated private studios—are quickly changing the landscape of the salon industry. Intended to off er beauty pros ranging from hairstylists to estheticians the opportunity to run their own businesses without the fi nancial investment required to open their own storefronts, salon suites are typically fully furnished, with utilities and amenities like WiFi included in the weekly or monthly fee. Most salon suites, like Salon Republic, which has locations in Southern California, Texas and Colorado, also allow tenants to customize their spaces. "Being a part of a studio-concept salon like Salon Republic gives beauty professionals more freedom to create an ideal and personalized work environment for themselves," says Eric Taylor, founder and CEO of Salon Republic. "T ey dictate their work schedule; charge the prices and use the products they want; sell retail; set the ambiance in their studio with furniture, paint color, art and music of their choice; and, most importantly, they keep 100 percent of all income." While the idea of many independent salon pros operating under one roof isn't new—booth rental has been around for ages—salon suites proponents stress that the concept is very diff erent. "For both, the salon professionals pay rent, license fees in our case," says Gina Rivera, co-founder and president of Phenix Salon Suites, with 100 locations across the country. "But that's just about where the similarity ends." "Salon suites eliminate the limitations associated with booth rental salons by providing beauty professionals with the privacy, suite talk Salon suites are changing the beauty industry. Is it the right business model for you? poi t of view freedom and control to run their businesses how they want and when they want," says Ken McAllister, CEO of My Salon Suite, which operates 23 locations in the United States and Canada, with an additional nine locations under construction. Despite the increasing popularity of salon suites, the model may not be suited to every stylist or would-be owner. McAllister, Rivera and Taylor agree, for example, that experienced beauty pros with an established clientele tend to be most successful. According to Rodney Cutler, a Redken brand ambassador and the owner of four commission-based Cutler salons in New York City, one of the biggest downsides of the salon suite model is the lack of being in a collaborative environment. "It's more of an individual experience," he says. "And from a client perspective, the biggest disadvantage is that there isn't a cohesive feel across the training of the stylists and colorists." Cutler says owning a traditional-model salon has helped him build his brand, as well as provide career opportunities for his staff beyond just servicing clients, whether it's working with the Cutler team backstage at fashion week or becoming a platform artist. In the end, Cutler stresses that choosing the model that will work best is an individual decision. "T e traditional model is certainly not going away," he says. "We're fi nding that more and more people want to be a part of something unique and share the journey surrounded by people who have the same mission. T at said, it's not a bad thing to have options in our industry. T e salon suites model is defi nitely for someone who likes freedom to develop their own cause; somebody who is willing to take on the highs and lows of building their career themselves." PHOTOGRAPHY: COURTESY OF SALON REPUBLIC Salon Republic Denver A suite at the Salon Republic Beverly Hills-Wilshire