Barbers Reinventing Their Industry


The venerable small business trade of the barbershop is changing. For 30 years barbershops were in a long decline in which the numbers of barbers in the United States kept going down. However, since 2001 the industry has been making a slow resurgence.

How have they managed to turn the industry decline around? By reinventing their service offering to appeal to what customers want today.

Barbershops are going upscale, offering a “corner barbershop feel with spa amenities,” according to a recent article in BusinessWeek.

“The room where Crawford trims beards, shaves necklines and offers hair replacement has a babbling rock fountain and a view of a lush courtyard. Clients in the waiting room relax in overstuffed chairs to the tunes of Kenny G.

Upscale barbering is beginning to spread outside trendsetting areas such as New York and Los Angeles as more barbers try to win back customers lost over the last decade to the more stylish, male-friendly salons.

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Since 2001, barbers have been making a slow resurgence, and the U.S. Department of Labor expects the number of barbers to grow 6 percent by 2012. That’s lower than the average 28 percent expected for all personal care services, but it represents a turnaround in a trade that had been on a decades-long decline.”

This is an admirable story about how to reinvigorate an aging industry when consumer tastes change. I wonder how many other small business industries could benefit from such forward-looking innovation.

Tags: Business; small business; retail; trends.

2 Comments ▼

Anita Campbell Anita Campbell is the Founder, CEO and Publisher of Small Business Trends and has been following trends in small businesses since 2003. She is the owner of BizSugar, a social media site for small businesses.

2 Reactions
  1. Anita,
    I have one question. You said barbers are now attracting customers by offering more services like spa and other things. This means barber shops are becoming bigger and multifunctional. This requires money. Is it possible for start up barbers to have money and resource for such an expensive barber shop? I mean, will the bank allow them?

  2. I visit barber shop not frequently as what other people do, I invested in a quality trimmer and learn some slef hair cutting skills, I am saving up a lot of money doing this, You guy can do this to if you are on a budget.