JUST CUTS

AMBER MANNING, GM, JUST CUTS

IFB: Price and premium services remain two strong drivers in the sector. How does your brand make an impact on either of these?

JC: There are no surprises at the cash register, our customers appreciate the clearly defined fixed prices. No discrimination between men and women's haircut prices and special prices for seniors and children.

Our brand success and strong customer loyalty is due to the quality service all our salons provide. Convenience is another driver for service and our online and selfcheck are new features that we are receiving positive feedback on.

IFB: Wages are a significant part of a franchisee’s expenditure – what advice does your brand offer in keeping costs reasonable but in line with industry standards?

JC: Wages are our salons’ biggest overhead. We work with our franchisees to ensure they roster according to their individual customer flow. Our online POS system provides reports for owners to help monitor customer flow and identify areas for improvement in their daily operations.

IFB: What about employment standards?

JC: We only employ senior qualified hairdressers. A project that we are looking at is taking hairdressers who may be have been out of the trade for some time, taking them through a training academy and offering them a position in Australia, New Zealand or the UK.

IFB: How is your brand embracing the trend for organic products?

JC: We have been changing formulations in line with our clients’ expectations over the last five years. We are pleased to now have no plastic bags.

IFB: What do you predict 2019–20 will hold for your business?

JC: We will continue to enhance our technology to make it easy for our stylists and franchisees to run their businesses and assist with decision-making.

A deeper dive into the huge amount of data we collect every day will also define how we communicate with customers and drive further loyalty and new customers acquisition.

IFB: How important is market share to the business?

JC: Surveys indicate that consumers expect to see a Just Cuts in every shopping centre in Australia and New Zealand. Our goal is to look after 5 per cent of the families of Australia and New Zealand. We are halfway there.