Published on January 28, 2020
Cut Buzz Boom !
By Trevor Studd
The trend for male facial hair has seen barbers become the fastest growing shops on the British high street, bucking the downturn that has seen fashion stores close at a rate of knots.
Barber shops were the fastest growing retail category in 2018, with 813 units opening.
It was a similar story the previous year, when 624 opened and analysts say that numbers are already outstripping growth again this year.
The explosion in the sector is largely down to the trend for male grooming, and specifically, beard grooming, experts believe.
The obsession with social media is also playing its part, as image-conscious men visit barbers as often as once a week to ensure they are Instagram-ready.
Ronald Nyakairu, senior insight analyst, at the Local Data Company, which published the figures, said the boom in business was partly down to the modern focus on looks.
But he said there were also few barriers in setting up a barbers when compared to other sectors and that getting a licence was less stringent than in other European countries.
“It’s a relatively simple way of setting up a shop,” he said. “It’s pretty easy for someone who’s come over from Europe and wants to set up a business to open a barber shop.
“The market hasn’t yet matured as it has for other sectors. If the market was saturated and there were a lot of closures, there would need to be some licensing around it.”
Daniel Davies, general manager of Pall Mall Barbers, agreed that the lack of regulation made it easy for anyone to try their luck in the male grooming industry, with no qualifications needed.
“People retire, or they’ve had enough of their job and they think they’ll give it a crack,” he said. “There are plenty of barbers but they’re not necessarily all good barbers.”
Mr Davies said men were also much more conscious about how they look today.
“Back in 2000 a chap would go for a quick snip and be in and out in 15 minutes,” he said.
“But now men want a bit more service and standard, there is more of an expectation, there are a lot more treatments and they go for the experience. They don’t always need a haircut.
“It’s the male equivalent of a blow dry and I think it’s why a lot of men have beards; they need to be shaped and looked after.”
He added: “We live in a busy world. It’s the chance to relax. In the ‘90s’ people went to the pub but things have progressed and for a lot of chaps, a light trim or a shave starts the week off.”