Sally Opens First ‘Teaching Salon’ Retail Concept
Sally Beauty's new store format, Studio by Sally, offers a more service-centric and educational shopping experience than its traditional Sally Beauty Supply stores to help consumers with any level of haircoloring knowledge achieve professional-quality hair on their own.
Fueled by a "DIY-centric spirit" — and inspired by the increasing number of consumers taking their hair into their own hands — a DIY hair salon and retail concept store was born, according to a media release from Sally’s.
The first Studio By Sally held a grand opening on March 23 in the retailer's hometown of Denton, Texas, a city within the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area known for its universities, live music and arts and culture.
At Studio By Sally, consumers can shop the retailer's wide assortment of hair color and beauty products, and participate in hands-on education through its "teaching salon" concept meant to "engage, educate and empower" consumers, per the release.
Licensed stylist-educators are available to help consumers choose the right product and teach them how to apply and customize salon-quality looks.
"Demystifying the haircoloring process is the key barrier to unlocking a successful DIY journey for consumers," Brenda Rutenber, Sally's group vice president of stores, said in the release. "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."
The retailer also curated a Studio By Sally service menu comprising the most popular techniques and styles that consumers want to learn and do at home, such as mastering a bouncy blowout, all-over colors, lightening and root touch-ups or experimenting with wash-and-go curls and other styles.
Studio By Sally also offers hands-on one-on-one services and interactive small group sessions that leave consumers with a finished style and the know-how to recreate it at home. Free workshops and events, steered by top industry brands, demonstrate different techniques like the key to flawless beach waves or enhancing specific hair types.
Shoppers can also record their services to play back at home whenever they need a refresher.
Studio By Sally was designed with an education-first mindset. Sally's says "informative, curated touchpoints" and signage exists throughout the store to aid the shopping experience.
"We wanted to help our consumers learn while they navigate and shop our vast assortment of professional-quality products," Rutenber added. "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."
Studio By Sally's grand opening celebration comprised a weekend full of events, including demos from “best-in-beauty” brands such as Coty’s Wella Professionals and Korean nail care company Dashing Diva as well as product samples, giveaways and other activities.
Sally's plans to roll out five additional Studio By Sally locations by the end of 2023.