It seems more people are fine with longer and less-styled hair during the coronavirus pandemic.
That change in consumer habits — plus some people's nervousness about returning to hairstylists because of COVID-19 — is causing more struggles for salons that were closed for most of the spring because of state mandates to help stem the spread of the virus.
Regis Corp. reported on Monday that revenue fell 76% during April, May and June, and the St. Louis Park-based company recorded a $73.6 million loss during the quarter.
"The global pandemic and the government-mandated hibernation of our salon portfolio severely impacted our results in the second half of the year," said Hugh Sawyer, chief executive of Regis, which also operates Supercuts and Cost Cutters.
The majority of its establishments across the country are now open, and the chains have put together vigorous employee and customer safety protocols. Still, offices and headquarters remain closed around the nation, creating variability in traffic both because of some of the salons' locations and relaxed consumer habits.
"I think people are Zooming around and can be a little more casual, and people aren't quite as well-groomed as they were when they went to an office," said Sawyer during a call with analysts.
Steve Hockett, CEO of Bloomington-based Great Clips Inc., said adjusting to the changing consumer habits and building back consumer confidence are key to getting traffic back in salons.
"We fully anticipate that people have changed their buying patterns," Hockett said. "We don't have enough time and data to analyze that yet, but I fully suspect that that's been a factor in every market that we operate in."
