Salons on High Streets: Location Does Matter 

A study jointly conducted by FICCI and PwC, reveals that the salon industry has touched Rs 1,00,000 crore in 2015, with a CAGR of 15 to 17 per cent. Hence it comes as no surprise that we are witnessing more and more entrepreneurs entering this line by opening a salon, spa or academy. The recent trend is pretty visible on high streets. While malls offer certain infrastructure advantages, high street salons have several tangible benefits.
Salon International-India spoke to a few known names in the business to know their brand strategy and reasons for selecting their location.
Owner of Juice Salon in Lokhandwala, Mumbai, Prerna Manchanda, has set up her salon in 1000 sq ft of space. Surrounded by residential high rises, Manchanda is not worried about garnering footfalls. She says, “My salon is buzzing with clients seven days of the week. If we are able to cater to the needs of half of the population in this area, alone, we have achieved our target.”
She adds that salons on high streets do well as people walk into a salon all the time. However, one has to convert them into becoming regular, which is where the services offered and the ambiance of a salon come into play.

Manchanda says, “Our luxurious salon offers a variety of unique and high end services in hair, beauty and nail categories.  The interiors have been designed in an innovative and chic fashion that complements the contemporary theme of the brand. Our professionally trained hair and beauty experts are skilled and do justice to the client’s requirement. All in all, I’m pretty happy with the location of my salon!”
Managing Partner, Magnifique Salon in Delhi’s upmarket Defence Colony, Milan Sharma, says, “Magnifique is only a few days old and we are happy to be in this area, as it offers us proximity to India’s renowned fashion designers and their clientele. As our target audience is the HNI, we have created a luxurious salon which spans 3800 sq ft and offers exclusive services in hair and beauty; we will soon be launching more services.”

With the bridal season coming up, it’s a given that Magnifique will be a packed house.  However, Sharma is quick to point out the travails of a big-city living, which is of parking. “In Delhi, as in any metro actually, parking has become a nightmare. To circumvent this concern, we have valet services to take away even that problem.”
Flick, a kid’s salon was launched in M-Block, Greater Kailash-II, Delhi. The idea is to give kids between 0 to 12 years, an option of having their own salon, not their mothers or fathers. It offers a range of services, right from special first haircut ceremonies, to hair grooming and cutting as well as spa services.
Co-founders, Deepika Khaitan and Sanjana Puri say, “Salons and spas on high street are in demand. As of now, there are about three to four major players in the GK2 market. With numerous services being offered, which can be termed as ‘expensive’ too, we see that customers are ready to spend. This is a reason why salons on high streets can sustain themselves and we are sure, Flick too will do well.”
Commenting on the right location, the duo say, “A good location does matter and it becomes even more mandatory as we are a kid’s salon. Issues of parking, ease of access, clean up-market area that parents can visit, are some of the points customers look at. Of course, the services and their execution do give a boost in retaining a customer, but there are many people who visit a salon for an experience and here location plays an important role.”

“We were inspired to pick GK 2, as it is in the heart of South Delhi. It is a resident’s shopping junction, thus this area helps us reach out to a larger number of our target audience. Being present in a market area gets us walk-in customers and helps us in creating a brand image and presence. The only negligible concern is of there being traffic while entering the area from the outer ring road which is the main access. We don’t think we will ever get into a mall, as a kid’s’ haircut or grooming is never done ‘by the way’. It is usually planned and going to a mall becomes tedious unless one plans other things with it. In the future, Flick intends to expand into other locations as well as explore other cities via a franchisee model.”