Salon Hair Care Category Mired in Low Growth

Topline revenues for all salon industry services (hair, skin, nails) plus salon retail grew only 1.8% to $64.3 billion, according to the newest Professional Salon Industry Haircare Study from Professional Consultants & Resources (PCR), a Plano, TX-based salon industry consultancy. PCR reports that approximately 257,000 salons and barbershops in the US used or sold professional hair care products. That count declined minimally, according to PCR, as the closure of traditional, commission-based salons slowed and large salon suites opened.

“The state of our salon industry is still weak and in a very low-growth mode, due to a complex multiplicity of factors,” said Cyrus Bulsara, president, Professional Consultants & Resources. He explained that the “salon suites tsunami” has driven salon retail to Amazon and other e-commerce platforms, Ulta and mass-retail diversion.

“Women opted for inexpensive cuts at family-economy chains and styled their hair at home. Price-conscious male clients had their hair cut at Sport Clips, Great Clips, Supercuts and barbershops. Family-economy salons continued to grow robustly,” he said.

According to PCR, sales of shampoos, conditioners, hair sprays, hair-styling products and specialty products all increased, but at much lower rates and in salons, occurred primarily after hair-color services.

“The US economy trended up strongly at 3% gross domestic product, with future growth projected to continue. In the salon industry, innovative hair color, high-performance hair care, new specialty products, men’s lines and large salon suites will all drive future growth,” noted Bulsara.

Cutting and styling grew only 1.8%, as client visit frequencies continued declining, and more cuts were performed at lower-priced, family-economy chains and rentals. However, PCR noted that blow-dry bars grew robustly at 25% in both revenues and locations, and new color touch-up bars have emerged, too.

PCR’s study quantifies and analyzes major dynamic salon shifts and trends in detail and includes detailed salon counts for US salon chains. Market shares are detailed for every company, including L’Oréal Professional, Henkel Professional, Coty Professional and John Paul Mitchell Systems, which respectively, are ranked as the top four manufacturers.

More info: ProConsultants.us