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The multibillion pound hair and beauty industry has cautiously greeted the confirmation that salons may reopen in April, after months of feeling treated like a ‘hobby’ and not a business by the government.
Haircuts, waxing, beard trimming and manicures are all allowed to resume from April 12, if a client visits a salon alone or a hairdresser visits their home.
Millie Kendall, chief executive of the British Beauty Council, told PoliticsHome that the £ 28bn beauty industry suffered tremendously during the lockdown, only being able to negotiate a few months of last year.
Financial support for the final weeks of the third lockdown is now desperately needed, she said, and renews her call for Chancellor Rishi Sunak to reduce VAT to five percent for salons and introduce a subsidy program for businesses who are now extremely cash poor.
“This is great news and I’m delighted that we’re opening again on April 12, and I hope we’ll be open for good,” she said.
“This is a cautious reopening and there is no reason we cannot stay open, but we must push for a personal care fund and a reduction in VAT.”
She described gaining government recognition at the onset of the pandemic was like “pushing a rock up a hill,” but significant progress had been made.
“We have a very good relationship now [with government]Kendall, who founded makeup brand Ruby & Millie in the 1990s, continued.
“Eighty percent of our workforce are women and many are doing it because it’s the only thing they can do and pick the kids up from school, and have working hours. flexible.
“Somehow they kept missing this really crucial point.
“The government thinks it’s a hobby. They’re starting to take it seriously now and see the value of it, but we had to push this rock up a hill.
Millie Kendall (right) with makeup brand co-founder Ruby Hammer (left)
Even today, Kendall said it was clear that when the Prime Minister mentioned that it was possible to have a haircut starting in April, people in the House of Commons started to laugh.
She said it made the industry paranoid that it was not viewed the same way as other multi-billion dollar economic sectors.
The hairdressing and beauty industry now has direct links within the Business, Innovation, Energy and Industrial Strategy department, which are dedicated to working with the sector during the pandemic.
The National Hair & Beauty Federation (NHBF) – the UK’s largest trade body for hair, beauty and hairdressing – is also backing calls for a five percent VAT cut and a personal care fund before the April reopening date.
Richard Lambert, the organization’s chief executive, said representations have been made to the Treasury and the sector is now waiting for the budget to hear whether there will be financial support for the final weeks of the lockdown.
Pension and national insurance contributions for staff on leave, contributions to the financial package for apprentices on leave, as well as invoices, repairs to premises and rent and insurance have caused costs to skyrocket. .
He said hair and beauty businesses saw an average loss in revenue of 45% in 2020, and up to 57% in some regions.
“We called for an emergency financial support fund to overcome the cash flow crisis. It would be a one-time payment of between £ 5,000 and £ 25,000 depending on the size of the business, ”he said.
“It is a sector that is neglected. This is not well understood and has been taken for granted, but during the lockdown last year, people realized pretty much what they lacked when they did not have access to the beauty business. It is about making the government and the general public aware of what the sector brings to the economy.
On April 12, he said: “In all honesty, we are thrilled. It was as soon as we could have hoped.
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