Things are not going well for the hairdressers in our country. They have difficulty finding staff and are competing against a growing army of cutting-edge self-employed people. There is no escaping higher prices for a haircut or dye job. “It will be quite an swallow for some customers.”
Barber Bekker is the name of his business in Heemskerk. In addition, hairdresser Henk Bekker has two more businesses in Hoofddorp. “There were three, but I had to close one,” he says. “I could no longer find staff for it.”
Bekker currently employs fifteen employees. “I actually have room for twenty. And if I had kept that one business open for 25,” he explains. His search for people is like mopping with the tap open. “According to the municipality of Heemskerk, more than seventy hairdressers are registered here as self-employed.”
Wages
Somehow the entrepreneur understands that. “My son works as a painter and can charge 80 euros per hour. He really doesn’t want to be in my business. The collective labor agreement wage was increased by 10 percent last year, but young people still believe that they earn too little as a hairdresser. They quickly start their own business. Or they will do something else.”
Many hairdressers still have debts from the corona period. They must repay NOW support or have to clear a tax or rent debt. In addition, their energy costs have skyrocketed and the materials they work with have also become a lot more expensive. The staffing problem is on top of that.
At the beginning of this month, it led to the bankruptcy of Style Hairprofessionals in Groningen and Drenthe. Owner Dick Kroes himself pulled the plug on eight branches because he could not find enough employees. Fifteen other branches, which fall under a different company, remain open. Kroes, who is considered an old hand in the business, does not want to talk about it with the newspaper.
Deflation
Many entrepreneurs stop in silence, says trade organization ANKO. Figures from the Chamber of Commerce show that the number of self-employed people in the sector is growing rapidly. In 2019 there were still 21,000, last September there were 4,000 more. At the same time, the number of salaried employees decreased. Before corona there were just under 26,000, now around 22,000.
Yvette Noordermeer, owner of two branches of the franchise chain Kinki Kappers, speaks of an exodus in the hairdressing profession. “I see it happening around me. It is really a trend for entrepreneurs to rent out chairs to self-employed people. They then open their own business in an existing salon.”
Noordermeer itself, which has thirteen employees, does not participate in this. “As Kinki we try to attract young people to us. As a chain, we have our own academy. We train talented people there. For example, I have someone who cuts hair for three days and on the fourth day only gives training at my stores in Haarlem and Heemstede. Young and experienced hairdressers can grow with us.”
Craftsmanship
A haircut at Kinki costs just under 60 euros for men and women – ‘we make no distinction in that’. Cutting and coloring costs around 140 euros. Noordermeer pays its people in accordance with the collective labor agreement. Employees must achieve a turnover standard. Those above that receive commission on top of their salary. Building up your own regular customer base is also rewarded.
Noordermeer: “This profession deserves much more appreciation, just like all those other professions where people work with their hands. In that respect, there is no escaping higher prices. Craftsmanship must be paid for.”
This is also what the umbrella organization ANKO says. “If the tax authorities start conducting stricter inspections and self-employed persons are required to take out disability insurance, this will of course have consequences for the costs.” And therefore also for the prices for the consumer. “That will be quite something to swallow,” the hairdressers warn, “for many Dutch people.”