But hardly out of one crisis, the next hits the German market leader in hairdressing chains. Inflation, energy costs, war: “The general reluctance to buy is reflected here one-to-one,” reports Michael Klier, who has managed the group since the beginning of 2000 together with his cousin Robert Klier.
The consequences of the Ukraine war are also reflected in sales. After a good development in the first half of 2022, the uncertainty of consumers was clearly felt in the second half of the year. Due to rising inflation, the hairdressing chain has increased its prices by seven to eight percent over the past twelve months.
Nevertheless, Michael Klier is optimistic about the future. He relies on new concepts in the branches and on the qualification of his own employees. “Our goal is to make personalities shine,” he explains. According to Klier, this should apply to both customers and employees. In the coming months, he says, the theoretical foundations will be carried into the salons. One of the goals is to reposition the corporate brands and make them more attractive to employees.
The most important thing, however, is to get back to the pre-crisis level as quickly as possible. The figures show how difficult this path is. The company itself does not provide any information about current balance sheet data. But the publication in the Federal Gazette shows a drop in sales of almost 100 million euros in the first year of the pandemic.
Michael Klier runs the Klier Hair Group together with his cousin Robert Klier.
(Photo: FOTORAUM Hanover)
While the Klier Hair Group had a turnover of EUR 275 million in 2019, it was EUR 176 million in 2020. The family business assumes that it will be able to reach this level again in 2024 or 2025 at the latest.
Part of the plan for the future is the promotion of young talent, of which the family company is particularly proud. According to the Klier Hair Group, it is the largest trainer in the hairdressing industry, currently there are more than 800 trainees. With a training system, the company wants to introduce young people to the trade as quickly as possible. An employee app, for example, offers trainees access to learning content and preparatory courses.
Michael Klier learned to be a hairdresser himself. “The contact with people and the creativity: That’s what has always fascinated me about the job,” says the 48-year-old entrepreneur. Although hairdressing was never his first choice, he really liked it.
Around 5000 products in our own online shop
According to its own statements, Europe’s largest hairdressing service provider is managed by Klier in the third generation. The company was founded in 1948 in Werdau, where his grandmother opened the first women’s salon called Klier.
After her two sons had completed training as hairdressers, they took over the business in the late 1970s. In the years that followed, more and more salons were added around Wolfsburg and throughout Germany. The group includes brands such as Essanelle and Super Cut, and the Kliers division today also includes the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
The business model now also includes an online shop. Around 5,000 hair care products are offered there. The shop should function as an “extended sales shelf”, explains the managing director. The online offer is an important supplement for the retail locations.
The group has grown significantly over the years, albeit not without growing pains. This led to a renovation for the first time in 2019. After the completed financial reorganization, the numbers looked good again at the beginning of 2020. Then came the corona pandemic, hairdressers were forced to shut down their business for months.
Weeks of uncertainty followed for the company. “This is the maximum penalty for any entrepreneur. Not being able to do anything, sitting back and saying: ‘Let’s see when we can open,'” Klier recalls.
Klier closed 550 branches during the bankruptcy
In December 2020, the district court at the company headquarters in Wolfsburg opened insolvency proceedings for the family business. Klier had to make tough cuts: At the start of the insolvency proceedings in Germany, the hairdressing chain had around 1,350 salons and shops with around 8,500 employees. Today there are only around 800 branches and 5000 employees.
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Not yet recovered from the corona burden, Klier and the entire hairdressing industry are now again suffering from tough economic conditions – especially the high energy prices. “The current burdens on the hairdressing trade have simply exceeded the limits of what is reasonable,” says Manuela Härtelt-Döre, President of the Central Association of the German Hairdressing Trade (ZV). “Many hairdressing companies are actually on the brink of collapse.” The association is calling for the VAT rate on hairdressing services to be reduced from 19 percent to 7 percent.
The ZV President warns that the hairdressing trade is facing multiple crises: “The industry is not only fighting against the effects of Corona, but also against inflation, the energy crisis and demographic change, which is causing a shortage of skilled workers.”
Klier not only counters this with its own training offensive. In the future, the hairdressing service provider also wants to take a closer look at the distribution of the locations. In times of working from home, more consumers would consciously move to the countryside. “How do we react to demographic changes as a service provider?” asks Michael Klier. This question needs to be answered.
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