The life-threatening power of Coronvirus has engulfed the whole world. Industries and businesses have come to a grinding halt and are tottering on the brink of semi-closure due to the lockdown in India. While the retail beauty sector has turned it into an opportunity for growth catering to captive buyers at home, salons in the country are facing a major hit. Salon owners and hairdressers cannot work from home and are completely dependent on clients hence, the cycle will start only once the lockdown is over. In the meantime, stakeholders are suitably employed either acing their individual games by way of practicing on mannequins or talking about the industry and the current issues on several social media platforms.
Adhuna Bhabani, Founder and Creative Director, BBLUNT, shares “Safety is our utmost priority. While our salons remain shut, keeping the academy and education perspective in mind, we are using this time constructively by conducting virtual sessions and training programmes for our stylists. We are also taking this as an opportunity to reach out to a larger client base. As a part of the customer engagement programme, we are holding live sessions on our Instagram page to address questions from our audience to maintain their current style till the situation improves and we reopen. There are no dates we can disclose right now, as to when this will be, but we are open to online consultations. With our ‘GrowOutChallenge’ led by Avan Contractor, Co-Founder, and her team of talented stylists, we stand in solidarity with our clients at home. From daily posts on pro tips and tricks on Instagram and YouTube to tips to care for your hair during the lockdown and style tips for all those video calls as you work from home.”
Expert View
“Coronavirus and its debilitating spread is a situation that is beyond our control, but we should learn to take it in our stride. Life is not what happens to us, life is how we deal with what happens to us. Corona has invaded us, but we have to look at it as an opportunity and move forward. Actually, if you notice a lot of positive things are happening in beauty. People are getting into online learning, they are networking and sharing their knowledge and thinking of ways to reduce cost and increase output. Post Corona, it’s a fact that hygiene will be a very important factor and salons have to be hygienically superior. Customers are going to be more value conscious and they’ll take bundled services. So for salon owners it’s an opportunity to consider today which all services can be bundled and presented to customers.”
– CK Kumarvel, Co-founder, Naturals Salons
Vikas Marwah, Owner, Vikas Marwah’s Salon & Academy, says “The lockdown is bound to impact the overall economy including the salon industry however, it is critical that we stay optimistic. I am taking time to be an opportunity to learn, grow and help, and staying abreast with the new trends and tips in hairstyling, which we are passing on to our clients through client engagement strategies. We are also virtually connecting with people in the business; and post lockdown, we have big plans to make up for lost time. My learnings however, from this unexpected occurrence is that we need to be patient and adaptable to technology and circumstances. We must learn to be tech-savvy to be fruitfully engaged in the quarantine period. At this time, responsible citizens need to support the government so that the economy can be fortified, which in turn will impact every sector positively including the hair and salon industry.”
