Todd-Watson

Richard Deane, Business Writer

With the cost of living rising at a monthly two per cent, the beauty business is feeling the squeeze as Jamaicans weigh choices about essential purchases.

Inflation hit 9.4 per cent in May, which, when annualised, is about 23 per cent, forcing consumers to prioritise food and rent over beauty salons and other luxuries.

Imogene Todd-Watson, president of the National Association of Hairdressers and Cosmetologists (NAHC), says beauty and body-care professionals are at their wits' end about what to do to earn a decent profit, and for some, to turn a profit at all.

"Some persons are just able to pay the bills, able to just break even," said Todd-Watson. "So, the days of going home with lots of money are over for some."

No estimate

Todd-Watson had no estimate of business lost, merely her observations. Women, who are the main consumers of beauty services, are frequenting salons less, said the association president, because they have less disposable income, while at the same time, the service has become more expensive as the shops pass through higher costs of doing business to clients.

"Rising costs due to inflation is affecting them as clients," said Todd-Watson.

"The price of food has gone up and the price of your hair-do has gone up, and so they have to set priorities," Todd- Watson said.

Kerry Spencer, owner of Salon Innovation in New Kingston, says that she has seen a 27 per cent decline in sales for the first four months of the year.

But May and June's figures were "surprisingly" better than last year, she told Sunday Business.

Spencer says that 60 per cent of her clientele have remained steadfast despite the rising cost of living, but the other 40 per cent have reduced their usual routines.

"Two years ago, you would see like 30 or 40 people a day, but now it's more like ten," Spencer said.

Statistical data published by Statin show that for the first five months of this year, prices rose 9.4 per cent, or at a pace of 1.88 per cent per month.

In conjunction with anaemic demand, salon owners have been facing challenges with growing overheads.

"The electricity bill that has become the killer for everybody, because we depend on electricity to survive - a salon cannot survive without electricity," Todd-Watson said.

Increase in electricity bills

According to power provider Jamaica Public Service Company, the average bill for residential customers has increased 14 per cent increase over six months.

Head of corporate communications, Winsome Callum, says that the cost of fuel fluctuates due to the price of oil on world markets, which climbed above US$145 per barrel, fell back to US$138 this week, but closed close to US$147 on Friday.

Todd-Watson says that to offset some of the revenue shortfall, salon owners have diversified and are offering services other than cutting and perming hair. They are selling more hair products, and offering beauty advice to clients on how to maintain their appearance in between salon visits.

Others are reshaping their operations by "cutting down some of the space and adding like a spa so you have like a salon and spa," Todd-Watson said.

The association, too, is becoming a lot more aggressive in promoting its members, and is in the process of building out a website to advertise the location and services offered, thereby increasing its visibility.

The NAHC was founded in 1987 and represents approximately 250 members who are hairdressers, cosmetologists, beauty therapists and manufacturers of health and beauty products.

richard.deane@gleanerjm.com