A halt, a craze and now?
Five months after the deconfinement, Franck Provost takes stock of his activity.
With its 3,500 salons around the world, it notes changes in the habits of its customers and welcomes government aid on Europe 1.
INTERVIEW
The containment marked a halt in the lives of millions of people around the world.
Hairdressing salons, in particular, were forced to close their doors, causing some hair disasters, but also a loss of income for these structures.
Five months later, Franck Provost, president of the Provalliance group, takes stock of his activity.
"In the centers of large cities, such as the districts of central Paris, or shopping centers, there is a significant drop" in activity, he reports on Europe 1.
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"In medium-sized cities, it's roughly equivalent" to last year, continues the entrepreneur.
To adapt to the health crisis, a protocol has been put in place in the group's 3,500 salons.
"Hairdressers have masks, everything is disinfected, we have disposable linen. All the protocol is respected", explains Franck Provost, who welcomes the measures of the government.
"We have been very helped by the government and we hope that this will continue. This is not the case in other countries."
Customers change their habits
The implementation of barrier gestures and suitable equipment had a cost for the company.
"In salons we have low margins, we cannot afford to cut this margin even further," said the hairdresser, who opened his first salon in 1975. "We take two euros more for equipment and for the time we spend, as well as taking fewer customers "in order to respect social distancing and to assume the overload of work caused by sanitary measures.
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More than the methods of professionals in the salons, the entire universe of the group had to be adapted to the health crisis.
In particular, digital technology has taken up more space: online appointment scheduling has been widely used to smooth traffic when leaving confinement.
Ditto for customers, who have changed their habits.
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"There is still a fear of going out, among many people of a certain age. And teleworking is a game-changer," says Franck Provost.
"When you are at home, people tend to neglect each other. The man or woman who goes to work wants to be smart, to seduce. Today, customers space out their visits," says the head of company.
"Teleworking has made it possible to smooth out attendance at hairdressing salons. It is between Monday and Thursday that there are the most time slots for free appointments," adds Jean de la Porte, vice president of LeCiseau. fr, also a guest of La France bouge.
The founder of this site specializing in booking appointments with hairdressers adds: "Our ambition is to democratize access to beauty and bring people back to hairdressing salons and beauty institutes".
Are we going to have hairdressing at home, as restaurants do?
Not at Franck Provost, in any case.
"Hairdressing at home is not our niche. People want a moment of their own, to relax, it is not possible at home", specifies the famous hairdresser.
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