MEDIA RELEASE
26 March 2020
For immediate release
Hairdressing decision is bonkers
The CEO of the largest hairdressing chain in the Southern Hemisphere says the decision by the National Cabinet to remove the 30minute window on hairdressing appointments while failing completely to recognise the health risk for hairdressers and clients is bonkers.
- The Prime Minister announced this morning that Premiers and Chief Ministers at National Cabinet last night agreed “that the instruction regarding 30 minutes per patron would be lifted but that the 4sqm per person must be strictly observed within the premises and that personal contact during the patron’s visit should be minimised wherever possible.”
- There are 2500 fully qualified stylists in the Just Cuts Australian network, predominantly in shopping centres, and 3500 globally. Just Cuts has 190 salons across all states and territories of Australia, 28 salons in NZ and 6 in the UK. The UK Government moved on 22 March to close salons with NZ following on 23 March. The Australian Government has excluded hairdressing from the list of non-essential services that needed to close and which included beauty salons.
Quotes attributable to Just Cuts Founder and CEO Denis McFadden
This decision is bonkers. It is physically impossible for stylists to do a shampoo or haircut without touching the client. It’s physically impossible for stylists to do their job and keep the 4sqm which National Cabinet now says “must be strictly observed”.
This is not about what services can and can’t be provided in a 30 minute window. This is about health of everyone in our salons, our hairdressers and our clients. Hairdressing is not an essential service. Of course I would prefer this weren’t happening at all, and calling for the sector to be shut down might seem counterproductive but it simply must happen in the interests of people’s health.
Without hairdressing being on the shut-down list, it is incredibly difficult for our franchise owners to take the heartbreaking but necessary steps to stand down workers so they can access available support or call for breathing space on leases.
Given the steps taken in the UK and NZ to close salons along with other non-essential businesses and given everything the medical experts are saying, we simply cannot justify the health or financial risk to our franchise owners, stylists and clients.
Australian National and State Governments, we are pleading with you. We understand that you’re trying to juggle protecting livelihoods and saving lives but this decision puts both at risk for our people and clients. Please act now.
– ENDS-
LJ Loch
0488 038 555 or ljloch@alphaconsulting.global
More about Just Cuts
Just Cuts is an Australian hairdressing franchise that bridges the gap between a barber and a high end hair salon. With salons in every state of Australia, on both the North and South islands New Zealand and the United Kingdom, it is the largest hairdressing company in the Southern Hemisphere. Based on a fixed price, no appointment system, Just Cuts offers clients affordable haircuts from fully qualified hairdressers and performs over 100,000 Style Cut cuts per week across Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
Celebrating 30 years in 2020, Just Cuts was the brainchild of Denis McFadden, who turned a simple idea into a business concept that would change the hairdressing industry forever. McFadden ran his first ever “no appointment, $6 Style Cut” promotion at his humble Sydney salon, receiving an outstanding response from clients. It was on this basic fixed price initiative that the idea of Just Cuts was born. The following year, the inaugural Just Cuts salon opened its door to the public. And in 1990, the first Just Cuts franchise opened in the suburb of Engadine, in the south of Sydney, New South Wales. Our brand has continued to expand ever since, with over 220 locations across Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
In 2013, Just Cuts launched JUSTICE Professional – a range of salon quality haircare and styling products available exclusively in all our salons at a competitive, affordable price. The JUSTICE Professional line has something for everyone, including everyday shampoos and conditioners, anti-dandruff and dry scalp treatments, toning products, nourishing leave-in treatments and a range of hair styling waxes and sprays.