Hair salon won’t reopen in Belfast after lockdown
HAIRDRESSING chain Peter Mark has said it will not reopen its Belfast city centre salon following lockdown after its lease ran out.
Long periods of closure have also taken their toll on the industry with salons shuttered for most of last year following the first shutdown at the end of March.
The Arthur Street unit formerly occupied by Peter Mark is now up for rent at £69,000 a year.
But Peter Mark, which is based in Dublin, said that “the intention is to reopen all the other salons once hairdressers are permitted to reopen in Northern Ireland”.
There are five other Peter Mark salons here, including Newry, Lisburn, Abbey Centre in Newtownabbey and Forestside Shopping Centre in south Belfast.
A spokeswoman said: “The lease on the Arthur Street salon has expired and we will be relocating the team to one of our other Peter Mark salons.
“We’re currently in discussions with the team around this.
“When we get closer to an opening date for hairdressing reopening again, we will be in touch with all our wonderful clients to let them know which salon their stylist has relocated to.”
The departure of Peter Mark also adds another vacancy on Arthur Street, a location for higher end retailers like Oliver Bonas, Seasalt Cornwall, Avoca and Anthropologie. A large unit occupied by lifestyle and fancy goods chain Cath Kidston also shut down permanently last year after it went into administration.
Home-working, which is expected to continue with hybrid working embraced by at least some businesses, is hitting city centre businesses previously dependent on office-worker footfall.
Michael Hopkins, an agent at Mckibbins, which is handling the letting of the Arthur Street unit, said lockdowns and the absence of office workers were affecting the rate of new lettings.
The first Peter Mark salon was opened by brothers Peter and Mark Keaveney on Dublin’s Grafton Street in 1961.
The chain now has up to 70 units on the island of Ireland. It is understood most of its salons in the Republic are owned outright while its Northern Ireland properties are rented.
As it prepared for reopening last July, Peter Mark said it would be hiking prices by up to £54 for a first post-lockdown chop. One customer claimed they had been quoted £186 for an appointment.
‘We’ll be locating staff to one of our other salons’