Industry news

Salons hard hit by second wave

The second wave of COVID-19 infections that hit South Africa in December 2020 adversely affected salon business, with client cancellations, depleted bookings and a drop in retail sales.

Says Helene Bramwell of The Mask in Parkview: “Having been in practice for more than 50 years, I am dumb struck at the frightening effect this devestating virus has had on business. Clients are afraid to make appointments and their families are keeping the older clients at home. No matter how much we insist that our salon’s safety protocols are in strictly in place, the ‘fear factor’ is stopping many from making an appointment and understandably so. If I feel there is a resistance with any of my clients, I suggest they don’t make an appointment as there is no point having a client who is afraid, especially when we are offering care.”

Bramwell notes that turnover dropped about 70% over the festive season and clients cut down on their product and treatment spend.

Increased safety measures

Ayesha Rajah of Urban Glow in Emmarentia reports that while she had a good December despite it being down on the previous year, January was ‘shocking’. She continues: “This is mostly because we enhanced our COVID-19 safety

Franchises

measures and told clients they could only come back 10 days after their holidays. Obviously this severely impacted the bottom line but the lives of my staff and family come first. Business picked up slightly in the third week of January.”

December was also bad for The Beauty Clinic in East London. Says co-owner Pieter Olivier: “Turnover was only 40% of December 2019 and we hardly sold any gift vouchers, which are usually so popular during the holidays. Granted, we were operating with fewer therapists as some of them unfortunately got sick and had to stay away, but we went into January not having to phone one single supplier as we were fully stocked. Fortunately most of our suppliers agreed to payment plans, with some even providing gifts for our clients.

“January was also very tough. On 1 February we introduced a gift voucher where we basically gave away a lot of services and the response was great.”

HEAL mobile spa services ran a few December/ January specials. “These did amazingly well under the circumstances, with a 10-15% discount on all treatments and products. We also launched a new concept just in time for Christmas called Mindful Gifting and managed to sign a few corporate deals where we supply these boxes to clients,” notes Izandi Serdyn.

Esna Colyn, CEO of the Imbalie Beauty Group, reports that its Placecol, Dream Nails and Perfect 10 salons had recovered very well up to the commencement of the second wave. “Thereafter, our salons did experience many cancellations and no shows as a result of customers being exposed to other COVID-19 positive people,” states Colyn. “We traded down in January 2021 in comparison to the prior year, mainly as a result of customers being cautions and all working towards a reduction in the number of infections.”

In terms of the Sorbet Group, CEO Linda Sinclair says: “Our festive season trading numbers were down compared to 2019 notwithstanding that as an industry and brand, we were extremely hard hit by the pandemic. However, our overall performance over the festive season was higher than anticipated and was driven by an increase in treatments. This is testament to our stringent safety measures, our strength as a brand and to our Franchise Partners and Citizens who are living our core values of servant leadership.

“In January, we saw a decline in foot traffic into our stores due to the second wave but retail sales showed a stronger contribution due to an increase in demand for home treatments.”

Professional Beauty announces virtual events series for industry

IMA acknowledges World Wellness Weekend founder

With large gatherings still prohibited due to COVD-19 lockdown restrictions as the country battles with the second wave of infections, Professional Beauty will run monthly virtual expos and conferences for the foreseeable future.

These exciting industry events will showcase the latest products from top brands, running alongside informative conferences with expert speakers. Each month is assigned to a specific theme, as in: Beauty; Nails; Spa & Wellness; Lashes; Brows & Make-up; and Aesthetic Medicine.

Says Phil Woods, commercial director of Professional Beauty: “At a time when it’s not possible for the industry to convene physically, we will be hosting outstanding virtual events to bring the industry together, on a platform that includes networking lounges and speed dating sessions where delegates can connect directly with brands. This interactive, high tech platform has been developed by the UK-based Professional Beauty Group.”

The Professional Beauty Online Events Calendar is as follows: • March 8th – Aesthetic Medicine Virtual Conference & Exhibition • April 12th – Professional Beauty Virtual Conference & Exhibition • May 3rd – Spa & Wellness Virtual Conference & Exhibition • June 7th – Nails Virtual Conference & Exhibition • July 5th – Make-Up, Lashes & Brows Virtual Conference & Exhibition For more information go to www.probeauty.co.za

Photo by Chris Montgomery on Unsplash

Jean-Guy de Gabriac

Jean-Guy de Gabriac of Tip Touch International, the founder of World Wellness Weekend, has been appointed an educational ambassador of the IMA (International Massage Association).

De Gabriac, who is based in Belgium and France, is well known to the Professional Beauty Group community as the coordinator of the World Spa & Wellness Convention in London.

Says an IMA statement: “We wanted to acknowledge 18 remarkable educators around the world for their constant efforts to support our profession through elevated trainings and workshops. These passionate and dedicated educators, whose vocation is to inspire and empower professionals to touch lives and not just skin, through massage workshops in advanced techniques as well as body mechanics, elevate spa operations to enrich the guest experience and create transformational wellness modalities.”

Could 2021 be the year of ‘Skinimalism’?

Social media platform Pinterest forecasts that ‘skinimalism’ is set to trend strongly this year.

‘Skinimalism’ will see clients letting their natural skin texture shine through and is described as a new wave of natural, minimal or no-make-up beauty looks.

The ‘Pinterest Predicts: The Soonto-be-Trending Report for 2021’ is compiled using data pertaining to Pinterest’s global search volumes between August 2019 to July 2020.

According to the report, pins for ‘face yoga exercises’ and ‘glowing skin – how to get [it] naturally’ have both soared +4x, while ‘natural everyday make-up’ searches have increased 180%. (Source: Professional Beauty UK)

HEAL launches body and skincare ranges

Mobile spa services company HEAL has launched its own natural ranges of oils, body and room products, with a skincare range due for release shortly. Says HEAL co-owner, Izandi Serdyn: “We offer mobile spa services all across South Africa to anyone who needs them. In this way we also offer therapists an extra income on the side, which is so desperately needed at the moment. “Late year we launched our HEALING range, with the motto, ‘Bring more HEAL-ING home’. The response since launching has been incredible. Our Sleep oil, which is safe for all ages including babies, is by far our top seller and client’s feedback has been phenomenal. “The most magical thing about this whole products adventure is that I’m not a therapist, nor do I have any background in the beauty industry. It’s just a calling but I’m loving every minute of it.” She notes that HEAL products are only tested on humans and that all ingredients, manufacturing and packaging (which is 100% biodegradeable) are locally sourced. “We are currently finalsing our Face range. Obviously the development process of this range has been more complex than with the other ranges. We have conducted extensive research to ensure the HEAL Face range will be unique and perfectly match what is needed in the market.” Serdyn reveals that if it hadn’t been for the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown, the ranges would never have been born. She continues: “I had loads of time on my hands at home and have the most amazing friend with in-depth knowledge of the beauty industry who has helped me every step of the way. “We initially started the product side of HEAL with manufacturing only five oils per week, but this soon grew to a hundred and we couldn’t keep up with orders. Luckily I found a marvellous factory that specialises in this field. E-commerce sites don’t allow you to list anything without all the required tests and certification, which I feel is fantastic to ensure the Proudly South African

Photo by Lisa Brown

endorsement and putting a valued product on the market.” HEAL therapists will be equipped with the HEALING kits to ensure the best possible service to their clients.

Izandi Serdyn

Changes at SA Spa Association

The South African Spa Association is offering free membership to the spa industry, including representation in all related aspects, such as health and wellness, tourism and hospitality, education and training.

Free membership benefits include the Spa Association logo and digital certificate. All Spa Association members receive, and are allowed to use, the logo and certificate during active membership status on their website, as well as in collateral marketing material, promotions and client communication. Each spa is site inspected to make sure it conforms to the code of conduct and must pass the Site Inspection test.

Another benefit is a free listing on the SA Spa Association website, including the name of spa, category, area, website (not linked) and telephone number.

The Spa Association also offers paid membership benefits

Leeu Spa under new management

Healing Earth, the South African spa brand founded by Elizabeth Brandt, has taken over management at the Spa at Leeu Estates in Franschhoek. The spa, which first opened in June 2017, is now known as Leeu Spa by Healing Earth and managed by the award-winning Alida Brynard. As to how the management deal came about, Brandt says: “The Healing Earth and Leeu Collection brands are perfectly aligned, and the partnership came about seamlessly and organically, with our vision and business plan perfectly matching what the group had in mind as part of their best-in-class partnership for the spa.” The spa reopened on 6 November last year (after having shut on 17 March due to the COVID-19 lockdown) with a new, but smaller team. “We have created a Spa Menu that caters to the need of each and every guest,” explains Brandt. “There has certainly been a demand for more packages, which we have catered to by adding the options of Full Day Packages for guests really wanting to spend the whole day with us. Our menu has been inspired by the vineyards and beautiful surroundings of the Cape winelands, which is hard to compete with. Also, there is the addition of the VIP Pomegranate Cottage Suite, which offers our guests complete privacy and luxury. The new menu has been very well received by our guests and we are seeing them steer away from the 60-minute treatments and indulge in longer experiences.” Commenting on future plans that incorporate wellness, Brandt notes that the spa team is keeping abreast of the latest developments regarding COVID regulations and restrictions. “As soon as we have a clearer picture of the way forward, we will start working towards fulfilling the current need for carefully curated holistic wellbeing retreats. We will focus particularly on executive retreats for those wanting to refocus, distress and rejuvenate, as well as individuals looking to detoxify their bodies and minds.”

Booking demand

Contrary to the expectation that bookings would be slow once the spa reopened on 6 November due to the state of travel bans and financial limitations resulting from job losses, guest interest in bookings really took off in October. Says Brandt: “Our spa manager had constantly been communicating with guests throughout lockdown to keep track of requests and we found that, amazingly, guests had money to spend on packages. We increased our average treatment price by 31% and our Average Guest spend increased by 55% due to retail performance. Many guests have rebooked for future treatments. “We have a very good mix of inhouse and external guests. When the properties/ hotels are booked, we receive many booking requests. We proudly cater to our local guests and as we are located on a destination property, guests plan a day out and easily drive an hour from the southern and northern suburbs to enjoy their treatments with us. Leeu Spa by Healing Earth loves having our local communities visit the spa; we know their preferences and they have become our regulars.”