Sally Beauty debuted its first salon and retail DIY hair hub in Denton, Texas, near the company's headquarters. With a merchandising assortment of professional-quality products and educational expertise, Sally Beauty is ground zero for beauty and hair color DIYers. The new concept with an education-first mindset, dubbed Studio by Sally, integrates hands-on education from professionals into its traditional store format.
"Consumers are looking for ways to shop and live smarter," said John Goss, President, Sally Beauty. "By connecting them with licensed stylist-educators who will teach them to color and style their own hair, we are empowering them to save both money and time long-term."
The store provides one-on-one services and small group sessions where customers leave with a finished style and the steps to recreate the look at home. The store will also host free workshops and events to demonstrate techniques.
During the shutdown, the pandemic forced consumers to become their own hairdressers, aestheticians, barbers, and manicurists. According to Nielsen, DIY movement in the personal care and beauty categories grew 16% across all channels in 2020. The question post-pandemic was, would this DIY behavior stick? According to an investor presentation in December 2022, 62% percent of Sally Beauty’s sales are from hair color and haircare.
"Demystifying the hair coloring process is the key barrier to unlocking a successful DIY journey for consumers," said Brenda Rutenber, Sally Beauty's Group Vice President of Stores. "That's why having a licensed stylist-educator there at every step of the process—from choosing the right color and developer to mixing and customizing it—is key. The teaching salon model combined with the shoppable retail portion of the store makes the concept so unique." Consumers can also record their services to play back at home whenever they need a refresher.
Sally Beauty has a retail footprint of over 3,100 stores worldwide, with around 2,300 locations in the US. The company has five more studio locations planned for 2023 and will potentially expand the concept to 100 locations across the US over the next three to four years, according to CEO and Director Denise Paulonis.
Informative, carefully curated touchpoints exist throughout the store to aid consumers' shopping experience. "We wanted to help our consumers learn while they navigate and shop our vast assortment of professional-quality products," said Rutenber. "For example, a textured hair care aisle offers a prompt to help consumers discover their curl type, and the aisle of lighteners leads with helpful techniques for using hair bleach. Each area was designed to provide helpful DIY education throughout the shopping journey."
