A cut above
Salon chain shows how it's done

Almost three decades ago, Lewis Thomas would arrive at work and cut people's hair while his boss looked on.

Today, he is still in the hairdressing business but he has 120 stylists who trim, dry and style.

Lewis' Partners Hair Design has an amazing presence in the Western Cape through its 11 unisex and eight gents salons.

An entrepreneur in every sense of the word, he was also a finalist and strong contender for the 2010 Sanlam / Business Partners Medium Business Entrepreneur of the Year® award.

A hair empire is born

A Brit by birth, Lewis arrived in South Africa in 1976 at the age of 20. He says he was offered a position as a hairdresser and decided to immigrate.

"Deep down inside there was always a desire (to open up a salon)," Lewis says, adding that this became a reality in 1984 when he bought a going concern for R22 000 in Claremont.

"It was about 60m2 and it was in a concealed entranceway so the rent was cheap...

"I always wanted to be in control (of my own destiny). I was never comfortable with someone having control over me – I often thought that I knew more than they did and I knew I could do it better."

Not long after, Lewis received a phone call from someone offering him another salon nearby.

"Looking at the salon, I saw more things that were wrong than right. I negotiated and bought it two days later."

He says that it was always his intention to grow his business and while this concern was almost on his doorstep, it made business sense as the location could not be beaten.

During this time, Lewis married the love of his life and he wanted the family to be taken care of – a powerful motivator.

"I found airs of complacency among my peers and competitors. It was too easy out there. They did not have to do much to get their salary at the end of the month."

Different style

Lewis knew that he could blow his competition out of the water by simply doing business differently.

But a man does not make a hairdressing army and he also knew that the staff would be a crucial key to success.

Lewis says that in rallying his troops, he found that he was actually good at spreading enthusiasm and managing different businesses.

"It was fantastic – it touched all my taste buds. I taught myself to understand and react very quickly (to business realities) and to become a decision maker. It was exciting.

"At school, I failed every math exam they put in front of me. I am also a very bad reader. I really battled in those areas, but you learn to deal with it in a simple format.

"I would get things explained to me, but at the end of the day I found it easy because common sense prevailed."

He explains that in knowing his shortcomings, he could engage the services of professional advisors. It was their job to help him understand the legal elements of a lease, the financial statement and their jargon or the inner workings of labour laws.

In this way, Lewis could make the decision that allowed the business to grow in leaps and bounds

The hairdressing industry has relatively low barriers to entry and Lewis says that it was his entrepreneurial abilities that allowed him to pummel the competition.

"I knew when to retreat and I knew when to talk and when to keep quiet. I was constantly teaching myself – every meeting I went into, I would listen to what people had to say and make piles of notes."

A fanatical note taker, Lewis started listing all the elements that ultimately influence the success of a salon. He explains that even supposed menial elements such as the placement of a tap or plug point can have a huge effect on the entire operation.

"Things go wrong everyday. But when things go wrong in a business it is like a slap in the face. You have to deal with it, deal with it in the right manner and never ever give up."

The ins and outs

Lewis intimately understands his industry and he is a stickler for details. Many would think that a salon is simply a place where hair is styled. The reality is actually much more complicated and a big part of the business' revenue actually stems from selling products to clients.

"Retail is detail amplified," Lewis simply says, adding that this makes up almost 40% of the business' revenue. "Buying a product takes a couple of minutes whereas a haircut takes fifteen."

You need feet before you can make a sale however and position is critical. Lewis adds that the salon also needs to be the exact size for the area. If it is too big, you lose money and if it is too small you lose revenue.

In the end, it is Partners Hair Design's staff who make the business tick over and Lewis has 220 people on the payroll.

"I know every single member of staff. They only get employed if I ok it. We have set up a strong infrastructure with managers and salon coordinators.

"Every week each salon receives a visit from head office for a couple of hours. These group salon coordinators know everything that happens in the salons," he says, explaining how the 19 different operations are managed.

"It is 19 times one – every salon is treated like a small business."

Partners Hair Design also has a training academy where the stylists are taught their trade. Lewis says this allows him to manage the level of excellence that his chain has become known for: "We are driven on education and training. I am also very available to staff and I personally train a lot of the staff.

"People don't have to work for us; they can work for whom they like. But they come to us out of choice.

"In every store we have two or three people who have left us to work somewhere else, been uncomfortable and then came back."

Another important element to success has been Lewis' focus on making the business financially independent while adapting to the realities of the day.

"Business is tough out there and retail is hard. Money is thin and there have been shifts in spending patterns...

"Over the years I have made myself a creature of change and not habit."