Carlton Hair is a leader in the hairdressing industry and prides itself on being innovative. The establishment was founded in 1968 and quickly gained a loyal customer base due to their commitment to providing exceptional hairdressing services. Under a strong management team, Carlton Hair has flourished into a recognisable hairdressing franchise that today has 24 salons located within all major upmarket shopping centres across South Africa.
Other than offering a variety of high-end hairdressing services for men and women, Carlton Hair is also a retailer of unique, premium sustainable hair products that customers can purchase to use in the comfort of their own homes.
Maintaining quality by investing in their staff
Carlton Hair has remained at the forefront of the hairdressing industry by staying up to date with the latest trends in beauty, fashions, equipment and technology. According to Jade Lee, Marketing Assistant for Carlton Hair, this is achieved by facilitating skills development for their staff on a continuous basis.
“We are fortunate to have international guest stylists yearly. Our staff attend this event and a smaller group is given the opportunity to learn through hands-on interaction with these educators. Our staff are expected to attend a minimum of four courses a year to keep up with the latest trends. Once a year, a small group from our company usually travel overseas, exposing them to the latest trends and equipment,” said Jade.
Implementing new business processes
When the government implemented strict lockdown measures in March 2020 to curb the spread of COVID-19, hair salons were deemed high-risk and were forced to close their doors indefinitely. For the next few months it was a matter of innovating and adapting to the online or risk going under. Carlton Hair was one of the lucky ones as they were quick to adapt by embracing ecommerce to generate a revenue stream.
“Carlton Hair offered customers an online platform to purchase their retail products from the beginning of lockdown, and we have kept the website active since,” said Jade. The website, Complete Hairdressing Supplies, allowed their stylists to earn commission during hard lockdown through the sale of hairdressing tools, accessories and furniture. The website is integrated with PayFast, allowing buyers to pay for their online order with either credit card or Instant EFT.
“We created a PayFast account in 2018, however only began using it in 2020 as a result of COVID-19. The online payment solution is simple and easy to use, making the payment process efficient for both clients and the salons. PayFast was extremely useful during lockdown as all online transactions were done via PayFast,” said Jade.
Another way Cartlon Hair mitigated lockdown was to offer their clients colour box kits that they could apply themselves. “Clients had a consultation with their stylist via Zoom and then after their consultation, their colour was ordered online and delivered to their door steps. Stylists offered the clients another Zoom call in which they instructed the clients how to apply the colour. Stylists requested for the Zoom consultations earned commission for this service,” said Jade.
Throughout lockdown Calrton Hair actively used their social media platforms to communicate with their clients and advertise new lockdown services. “We began launching these promotions on our website during lockdown for clients to purchase via PayFast, and we plan on running promotions for the foreseeable future as we found that our clients favour the convenience of online shopping,” concluded Jade.
PayFast has helped thousands of South African merchants move online and get paid online during lockdown. For more information on how PayFast can help your business succeed online, visit payfast.io.
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