Salon
I
Scott Griffiths and Ron Love
54
COSMOBIZ SALON NOVEMBER 2015
n 2002, Ron Love and Scott Griffiths decided, after
countless years in other industries, to dip their feet
into the men’s grooming industry. Now, as we’re
about to head into 2016, the operation has grown to
include over 40 locations with 320 more in the works.
The duo started the first Orange County location when
they realized the gap in the market. With the recent
upticks in interest in the men’s grooming industry,
men had begun to pay more attention to how their
hair was being done, and in turn to where they went
for haircuts and styling. As Love and Griffiths learned,
not only did men want their own space, but it turns out
that many women seemed to be keen to have them out
of the salons as well. “There was a huge audience in
the market for a premium brand men’s salon,” Love
explained to us. Love and Griffiths had been working
for the same company analyzing a business model for
a more common type of establishment when they had
their “ah-ha moment.” The two then spent 18 months
working out the business model and seeing if the
concept was viable. “We realized we had something
very different, we were a little before our time,” Love
exclaimed with a laugh, “most guys were going to value
stores or women’s salons to get their hair done.”
While the current number of men’s salons in the
US is still low, we’ve noticed more and more popping
up every month. 18|8 is lucky to have a jump on the
market, and since they have their format down they’ve
been able to quickly expand using Love and Griffiths
successful example. There are quite a few things that
set them apart from unisex salons or their more direct
competition, the barber shop. The types of services
they provide, for one, differentiate them from the
average barber shop. Not only can men get manicures,
pedicures, and other services like massages or facials in
a space that feels masculine but they offer men-specific
services like ear and nose waxing. Love mentioned that
these two waxing services are actually some of the most
popular treatments aside from the usual haircut and
shave. Love noted that the types of cuts their stylists
were trained to do varied from barber shops as well,
“We’re not only doing the basic barber cuts, we also
do long hair.” Longer hair has become quite popular,
and I’m sure we’ve all seen a man or two whose locks
have come victim to an untrained stylist--for the 18|8
team these high fashion looks are just as important as
the more classic skills.
When it comes to differences between 18|8 and the
average women oriented or unisex salon, the details
are more specific. While the company upholds a lot