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Savvy Sophistication Shanghai Style
L
eaving Australia at 19 to work in one of Asia’s most prestigious salons, 42 year old Darrin Usher blazed a trail throughout China that would sprout apprehension in the most intrepid entrepreneur. In 1997 when most foreigners and many Chinese were escaping Hong Kong for fear of the China Handover Darrin saw opportunity. Having honed his skills in Hong Kong’s top hairdressing salons, travelled to London and Europe for inspiration, participated in TV, magazine and fashion shoots as well as countless Asian beauty pageants Darrin felt the changing climate was ripe for expansion. One month before the Handover he opened what would become Hong Kong’s first ‘lifestyle’ salon ‘The Hairdressers’. Despite the naysayers, Darrin went with his gut and chose a location in what he viewed as an up and coming area of Hong Kong. Named SOHO, it’s now the hottest district in the city for bars, restaurants and boutiques. Following a sudden 300% property lease increase, it was time to relocate The Hairdressers. “One of the challenges with having a big vision is that when others see your success, they get the courage to give things a go. That’s often accompanied by a gush of followers which inflates rental prices,” explains Darrin. Going from a 50m2, 8 chair salon to a 300m2, 30 seat salon with an open pantry, private rooms, music listening stations, artwork and designer furniture for sale and tattoo studio was a huge leap. With SEPTEMBER 2011
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dare business space a prized commodity in Hong Kong, Darrin used his new salon to host exhibitions, functions, demonstrations and wine tastings. “You pay rent for 24 hours a day so it’s wise to utilise the space for as many hours as possible”. Doing so generated further exposure and resulted in ‘The Hairdressers’ becoming branded as ‘Hong Kong’s Most International Salon’. Seeing a hole in the marketplace for product distribution Darrin decided to again embark on yet unchartered territory and build a salon branded with its own product. Within three months he had two new salons running at 20% growth. Despite his success Darrin’s vision was fading. “I felt that Hong Kong had become spoilt. Freelancers were taking over the industry and I believe this is another term for people unwilling to commit to their career. You can’t have a business and rely on people with a vagabond mindset”. It was time to explore new markets. A regular traveller to Shanghai Darrin began to witness a shift in the energy of this vibrant city. “With the market maturing but not yet developed I decided it was a good time to move”. While now united as one country doing business in Hong Kong is very different from doing business in China. “Hong Kong is one of the most efficient cities in the world. A simple phone call gets things done. Nonetheless Hong Kong is a very unforgiving place that moves at the pace of a high speed train. You can miss you stop and keep riding forever or choose the right time and step out of the carriage.” Darrin’s next stop was Shanghai. Six months of extensive research, exploring, visiting salons and paying for friends to ‘experience’ Shanghai’s ‘top ranking’ international salons uncovered a wealth of information. Research revealed that most salons in Shanghai followed the same theme - clean, white and sterile with poor to average communication and service. “I was shocked at the mediocre quality in most salons. English was poor even in the so called 18
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Daring Secrets
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Be Different. A busy world out there so don’t be afraid to stand out from the crowd.
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Think Big. Thinking small yields small rewards so hold the biggest dream you can.
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Change with Market Demands. Remain flexible to ensure you can adapt to changes in the market.
international salons and customer service was nonexistent. Yes there was definitely opportunity in Shanghai.” Drawing from his experience and success in Hong Kong Darrin set out to create something very different from what was on offer in Shanghai. “I decided to do something personal, something closer to my heart, something that could relate to me without being about ‘me’. Thus DAZ was born. DAZ is a nick name used only by my family so I felt it had more significance than just using a typical ‘salon’ name. I looks good from a branding perspective, is easy to read, to pronounce (important when you are in a foreign language country) and easy to remember. It just felt right.” Choosing an old factory building enabled Darrin to combine two of his most favourite design concepts industrial/loft and
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Support Your People. Your team are your biggest asset so take the time to learn about what’s important to them and let them know they have your support.
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Be Yourself. Being anything else would be living a lie.
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vintage. It’s a style he labelled ‘Vindustrial’. As a keen advocate for recycling, the design brief was to create a warm, relaxing and inviting space reusing as much as possible from the original premises. This included using recycled steel beams, old wood and anything that could be remodelled or reused. Flexibility is also a key design element with everything in the salon being movable. “From my experience having fewer built in fittings is a smarter investment as it gives you the flexibility to move within the space or to other premises with limited wastage”. This flexible has created a multi-purpose space that expands far greater than a salon. The salon has been secured but a director for a film shoot and there are plans for art exhibitions, food and wine tastings, seminars and special events. “I love antiques and have been collecting for some
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dare business time. Many of the items in the salon are from my own home to add that personal touch. I love it when clients walk around and notice all the small details.” Everything in the salon is for sale. Once a piece is sold Darrin replaces it with something different so the salon décor is ever evolving, giving clients a new experience with each visit. CHINA CHALLENGES To start a business in China Darrin advised that you need to have lots of patience and a good sense of humour. “When forging relationships with authorities you need to buy what are known as ‘value added cards’. These tax deductable cards have a cash value that can be used at various stores. You’re expected to gift these cards in order to make friends and get results. In one scenario I was told it was too dangerous to have a gas water heater in the staff room but if I changed the area to a kitchen it would be ok to have a gas appliance. I posed the question that that if I change the staff room to a ‘kitchen’, had open flames, several electric appliances, oils and allowed staff to work in the kitchen that would be acceptable. Yes that would be considered safe. So on the floor plan the staff room was renamed the kitchen and we’re good to go.” Riding on the back of his Hong Kong success, Darrin has created, what many through impossible… ‘Shanghai’s Most International Salon’. “To be different you must be prepared to invest a little more time and money in both your salon and your people. You don’t need to be excessive but a cheap mindset creates cheap results and that’s doesn’t honour our brand as Shanghai’s Most International Salon.” “I believe the reason so many international salons have failed in Shanghai is they follow the same pattern of having one western stylist, a Hong Kong stylists - who are not regarded as local and filling the rest of the salon with locals. You can’t be international without being international.”
Darrin launched DAZ with a stylist from Australia, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy New Zealand and USA. “If you brand yourself as something then you need to live up to your brand ALL THE TIME.”
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