Customers book appointments less frequently: Hairdressers are struggling with lost sales

The rush was initially large – after the reopening, hairdressing salons could hardly save themselves from customers, appointments were booked for months. Now, however, many hair artists are complaining of poor sales. This is not only due to the hygiene measures.

A good three months after reopening, hairdressing salons are complaining about the consequences of the Corona crisis. The demand for haircuts is great, but the initial rush after the weeks of forced closings has subsided, said Jörg Müller, managing director of the Central Association of the German Hairdressing Trade. "In times of short-time work, some customers hold back and allow more time to pass between visits to the hairdresser."

The more than 80,000 salons in Germany also made the strict hygiene regulations to create, said Müller. Due to distance rules, work-sharing processes among colleagues are not possible. This means that significantly fewer customers can be served than before. "This is particularly noticeable in large salons," said Müller. The industry is doing everything possible to prevent infections with the use of masks, disposable capes and disinfectants.

To contain the corona pandemic, hairdressing salons in Germany also had to close their doors. After six weeks of shutdown, they were allowed to reopen at the beginning of May under strict hygiene rules and experienced a rush of customers who had been eagerly waiting for a haircut. However, the losses could not be fully made up. "The sales that we lost in the lockdown are not coming back," said Müller.

Many salons raise prices

For the full year, he expects 20 percent less sales in the industry, which took around 7.5 billion euros in 2019. Some salons have therefore increased the prices, but this is handled very differently. Müller estimates that because of the Corona crisis, customers have to pay an average of around five percent more for hairdressing services such as haircuts, dyeing or beard care. The Federal Statistical Office has also determined significantly higher hairdressing prices in recent months.

The difficult business in the hairdressing industry is also noticeable in the apprenticeship positions. "We continue to train, but there is a reluctance to be observed in the offer of apprenticeships," said Müller. In the industry with around 230,000 employees, a shortage of young talent has long been a problem – also because low wages often damage the reputation of hairdressers as employers. The hairdressing industry, which trains around 22,000 young people every year, benefits from the help of the federal government such as training bonuses for companies, said Müller. "But we would like more." Students, for example, could take out health insurance from their parents for a while, he says. "Why doesn't that work with trainees?"

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