11 minute read
INCONFRENCE: ASPYA 2024
ASPYA 2024
Designed to reward salons that choose to build a long-term loyal future with Australia’s own De Lorenzo, ASPYA 24 took 185 guests overseas to seaside Phuket, where culture and connection left each salon owner more enriched, re-energised and with lasting memories, writes Cameron Pine.
To create change, you must first change up your environment, goals and surround yourself with the people and skills to propel you forward – all of which are cornerstones of the ASPYA program that some members have been attending for 20 plus years, myself included. 2024’s program sparked a little trip down memory lane to my very first ASPYA conference some 22 years ago. For an Australian owned and made product that’s continued to evolve, pass vegan milestones and play at the top end of town in terms of performance, De Lorenzo continues to drive better business, but most importantly better people and processes along the way, all while in the surrounds outside of the everyday that set the mood for discovery and fun, the JW Marriott Resort and Spa. Leading with people and compassion first, the brand has continued to take its relationships seriously – a focus on loyalty not only through an inherent culture but a continually moving goal of taking time to re-think and take stock of changes and celebrate those that have helped get us to where we are today.
Back by popular demand and a regular on the De Lorenzo conference front, emcee Rob Carlton does more than the average emcee, you’d almost think he was part of the De Lorenzo family. Rob has a combination of comedy, wit and inspiration weaved within throughout and among the dynamic speaker program. He was the ideal conduit between speakers, kicking off each day with a recap and summary from the day before. Comedic, upbeat and constantly changing with the emotional journey of life, Rob’s examples were relevant and relatable.
“We are here to take you away from the day to day – it’s the source of all your love and your frustration,” said Rob. “We do this so that when we go back to our cups are full and we can be that source of joy for customers.”
De Lorenzo Director Chris De Lorenzo set the tone for the ensuing days with a typically heartfelt and family focused front.
“We are here to respect our world, our legacy and our people, for a brighter future through our products,” he said. “The concept of the ASPYA was first created by Vincent and Anton De Lorenzo, my father and uncle to give hairdressers something extra beyond products where they could network with like-minded people. This particular conference has been four years in the making since its original date in 2020 down at Karon beach when COVID hit.”
While it seems like yesterday, a lot has changed in four years, so a new format and conference, as its name would suggest, was just the inspiration delegates needed to re-focus.
“During that four years the world certainly did change and so did our habits. One example for hairdressing was the rebooking times became longer. It certainly changed our business models and the way we think about things,” he said.
On a positive note, Chris shared that the Kline industry report (audited by KPMG) revealed the professional hairdressing industry was worth 407 million dollars in 2022, which is 11 per cent growth over the previous year and continues to climb.
The first guest speaker of the program was what many call the industry’s own supporter and voice to Parliament at the Australian Hairdressing Council, Sandy Chong. Sandy works directly with the federal and state government, with a real connection or commitment to education and training.
“There’s a lot of changes there that I’m not going to talk about at all today, what I am going to talk about is the culture of your salon,” she said. “I can’t control what you’ll hear in this presentation but I believe you will hear what you are meant to hear.
I’m going to talk to you about above the line and below the line – and remind us to ask ourselves on a day-to-day basis, ‘where is my head at?’”
Sandy spoke of the levels in which we operate and as hairdressers the important need to be productive and create and be above the line, what it is we do and start each day with and how it sets the tone for our ‘above the line’ and not ‘below the line’ mood and temperament. Sandy then expanded into a separate seminar for salon owners only, which was a more concentrated session around current rules, legislation and hours, with a myriad of case studies and examples from the audience with each owner overcoming some limiting beliefs and how better to handle staff interactions and issues.
Author of the Grow My Salon Business Series and Podcast Antony Whitaker hails from the UK and forced the hard and blunt question, ‘What is your business’ vision?’. From packed out events, one to one calls and online courses, Antony adjusts his approach to suit his audience and broke it down to opportunities for De Lorenzo delegates through six key growth indicators. These were expanded on and broken down between new clients, new client retention, existing client retention, average spend, frequency of visit and productivity.
“Your vision is really what you want to achieve. I think people often will say to me, as an example, just like McDonald’s for IBM, ‘why do I need a vision statement?’ I say, ‘don’t get hung up on the terminology. The terminology isn’t a problem at all, the vision statement is or the vision is when you say what your purpose and vision for your business is.’
All I’m asking you is what do you want your business to be,” Antony said.
“The biggest challenge now is that frequency of visits is down, but if you understand the three functions of marketing you can keep them and turn them into regulars. You need to understand the client lifestyle and not just the numbers,” he said. “We live in different times, so if you had a business five, ten or 15 years ago, what worked then won’t work. You need to evolve, you need to change.”
Antony further reaffirmed the importance, now more than ever, to reimagine, because in a market that is oversaturated with a choice, what are you going to do to stand out?
Amanda Stevens is a global thought leader on marketing, the customer experience and the future of consumers. Having a long list of academic achievements and experiences under her belt, Amanda hit the speaking circuit specifically specialising in how to sell to women. As an author of the books, Pure Strings, Selling to Women and Turning Customers into Advocates, her experience around customer advocacy and evoking the emotion that encourages spending and loyalty is second to none.
Adding a futurist spin to her presentation, Amanda very much confirmed that the future of the consumer is still very much embedded in the personal touches and the little things that are often the big things we underestimate the real power of. With her entire speaking schedule completely decimated at the beginning of COVID and the introduction of hybrid working, Amanda reset her pathway onto the ever-increasing potential of consumer flexibility and choice within their experience as essential to creating loyalty at a deeper level.
“The share price of Moët Hennessy, the parent company of various luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton, increased by 148 per cent in 2020 and consumers are willing to pay 12 to 15 per cent more for a product or service if they see the value,” Amanda said.
Amanda spoke of the concept of Omotenashi, a deep-rooted Sado culture in Japan, which means to wholeheartedly look after guests.
“The difference between men and women is that men’s dopamine levels kick off when solving a problem, whereas women just want you to listen. It’s not sales, its service. If I do nothing else but ask the question, that’s often the only difference. We all know that two dollar KitKat at the service station when we pay for petrol? Apparently 62 per cent of consumers actually buy one, just by being asked the question,” she said, encouraging hairdressers to be more curious and agile. “That’s $678,000 a year extra just from asking if you want a KitKat.”
Chris Helder has an in-built ability to shift mindsets and perspectives regardless of the content.
“Understanding can be as powerful as gravity. A better result usually comes from a better useful belief.” he said.
Using humour that’s relatable to hairdressers, Chris brought an impressive energy and pizazz to the stage, combining education and entertainment that also delivers a radical mindset shift. Chris is the author of several best-selling books, including Re-Ignition, Useful Belief, The Ultimate Book of Influence and The Simple Shift.
Chris spoke of the difference between the best and the average, which is that they see opportunities that others don’t see.
“Whatever your reality is, you can change it or come up with some useful beliefs about it,” Chris said.
Without bombarding guests with product, a nod to education and the revamped and expanded Nove 360 permanent colour range gave ASPYA guests exclusivity and ownership over a colour brand they love. Compered by Megan Yabsley, De Lorenzo Education Manager and trichologist at De Lorenzo, Megan spoke of the newfound versatility of the Nova 360 range and imbued creative inspiration into the conference.
“We have our amazing educators putting on a show that highlights our new season collection and features our full range of Nova 360 colour palettes, and further cements our vegan, sustainable, cruelty free and Australian made standpoint,” Megan said.
Celebrating personal style and exuding natural confidence, De Lorenzo’s AW24 campaign, FLOURISH, was released to ASPYA members first –presenting a symphony of current trending colours from warm tones to cool peekaboo pastels, natural highlights and an overall bolder palette for the brand. FLOURISH is a firm progression from the 2024 SS Home Grown collection, from a normal natura feel that’s still connected to nature and heralding De Lorenzo’s plant-based botanicals.
FLOURISH highlights the diversity in current trends through shorter styles, mesmerising upstyles, bolder blunt cuts and sophistication in natural tousled waves, with colour work and styling created by De Lorenzo’s National Educators. Lisa Polini, Angela Soong and Holly Breen were all live on-stage demonstrating the tips and techniques from colouring to styling and some handy in-salon ideas around finishing, photography and those many relatable moments that inspire hairdressers.
Anthony De Lorenzo closed off the entire program with an honest insight into the key take aways and some of the little memorable moments from the entire program.
He affirmed how much belief and information improves the way salons operate every day, from engaging in the useful suite of cutting education, to entering awards and listening to the latest trends and taking that one message from your favourite speaker and sharing it with your wider team.
“Use your curiosity to discover the magnetic threads that give us commonality.”
Ultimately through some tumultuous years, COVID fast-tracked some major shifts in consumer spending and trends, yet De Lorenzo’s values remain unchanged. While their vision for the future is strong, the loyalty among salons and asking for feedback continues to drive the brand forward. For owners, staff and industry educators and experts concerned with relationships, consistency and character, ASPYA was another exemplification of why De Lorenzo salons and clients are a special breed of Australian made and proudly home-grown individuals.
Just as Chris Helder summarised, useful belief and respect go a long way. “Use your curiosity to discover the magnetic threads that give us commonality”, and that they did.
If you missed ASPYA 24 and you’re missing the kinship, mentorship and family friendly mood your salon once had, 2025 alongside De Lorenzo’s leading delegates is one not to be missed. Once bitten, twice shy – you may recover from missing one, but definitely be fearful of doing it again. See you next year.
For more information visit www.delorenzo.com.au
