The Wig Industry: Where We Stand Today By Jackie Yu, President, HairArt Int'l Inc. HEH Men's, House of European Hair If you're a wig shop or hair replacement center you've probably noticed extreme changes in availability, quality and communication from wig brands since the start of the pandemic. And even as we appear to be coming to the final year of the pandemic, instead of things getting better they're getting worse for wig and hairpiece brands. The industry is running out of real Swiss lace for high-quality lace wigs due to a global shortage that's backed up through 2024. Production in factories in Asia is
limited and at best lagging, raw hair is in short supply, and the cost of importing goods and shipping from factories has also quadrupled. There's no immediate foreseeable change to this situation. The pandemic has also affected oncereliable hair centers and wig shops we in the industry have worked with for decades. Places like Hair Direct, a men's hairpiece mainstay, have gone out of business and other suppliers and brands aren't stable or have no inventory. Poor communication and questionable business practices also seem to be on the rise. We've heard repeatedly of vendors changing the sale price of an ordered item after the fact. This leaves the purchaser
feeling as though their piece is being held hostage, destroying their budget, their ability to set resale pricing, and deeply affecting their sales margins. Guarantee pricing at the time of order needs to be industry practice because stability and trust are as important as delivering a high-quality product. Another problematic issue seems to be poor communication between the U.S.based brand and their production facilities in China. Some companies have gone so far as to tell customers to stop asking about ETAs or delivery times regarding the custom orders placed by salons and shops purchasing for end-users. CONTINUED ON PAGE 15 THE LINK MAGAZINE
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