PETALING JAYA: Salon operators and beauty brand owners are getting used to the new rules of the motion control ordinance.
Michael Poh, president of the Malaysian Hairdressing Association and the United Asia Hairdresser Association, said the only thing to do is stay positive.
“We have less income but we also spend less, we don’t travel abroad, etc. We have to try to stay positive, ”said Poh.
“If you are lucky your sales last year would have only gone down by 40%, but for most of the salons in the country the losses are between 50 and 60% because we were only allowed than to cut the hair.
“Even for chemical treatments or coloring, you have to do it in an hour. How much can we earn? We cannot cover the rental.
“With fewer events happening, there is little revenue from blowouts and styling,” he said.
On a more positive note, Poh said clients keep coming because haircuts are essential.
However, many are unclear about the SOP for traveling within a district.
“Before that, it was clear that you could travel within 10 km of your home, but this time people don’t know if they can cross from Damansara to KL for their haircut,” he said. declared.
Shawn Loong, founder and director of Shawn Cutler, said business was bad over the first two MCOs.
“We were struggling because we had to manage salaries as well as hiring, while adapting to the SOP.
“With another OLS imposed, it’s another wave that we have to face, and I think this one will be more difficult. Rental prices for salons in shopping malls can range from RM20,000 to RM50,000 per month, and I’m not sure if only being able to offer haircuts will cover our costs, ”he said. .
So.Lek makeup brand founder Dahlia Nadirah is grateful to Malaysians for supporting local brands and even gaining new customers.
“The first MCO wasn’t that bad, but the second left us struggling and we had to find ways to survive. Launching new products and putting some on sale has helped a lot, ”said Dahlia.
Datin Vivy Yusof, co-founder of The duck Group – YAP CHEE HONG / The Star
Datin Vivy Yusof, co-founder of The dUCk Group, which houses the dUCk cosmetics brand, spoke of declining sales because “people don’t feel the need to buy new things because they don’t go out.”
“The stores also don’t have any sales, so a lot of the retail team volunteered to work in customer service and the warehouse to help with online orders,” he said. she declared.
“Operationally, whenever there’s an MCO announcement, the team already knows what to do – launches have to be delayed, teams have been moved.
Overall last year, the FV group only recorded a 10% drop in overall sales despite the pandemic, ”she said, referring to Fashion Valet of which she is a co-founder.
“So I’m always grateful that we weren’t so badly affected. There have been no layoffs or pay cuts since the pandemic.
“I think this is largely due to the fact that we already have a strong e-commerce base.”
Vivy expects businesses to be impacted, especially physical stores.
