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In less than 12 months’ time, the UK will have begun it’s “divorce” from the European Union. With over 40 years stacked up in the Union between the UK and the EU – that’s significantly longer than most marriages last – plus, there’s also every hope for an amicable post-divorce relationship, which again would be no mean feat if achieved. As with all divorces, the financials are set to be tricky but let’s not forget, in the break-up of any relationship whether business or personal, it’s perhaps all too easy to focus on the negatives. I, for one, think it’s a far healthier approach to focus on the positives and certainly in business, the pragmatic approach to problems is often more successful than an idealistic one. So, we must focus on the opportunities that change will inevitably bring about and ensure we have everything in place to make the most of them.
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When looking at the tanning industry in particular, one of the positives of being part of the EU family has been the harmonised approach to standards. Although occasionally overly-complex, certainly time-consuming to wade through the registration process and almost without exception, expensive to adopt within the production process, an EU Standard sets the bar high for consumer safety. Ensuring the ability to be able to demonstrate compliance as a manufacturer or distributor of tanning products gives salon owners and operators confidence in product compliance and, by association, in the safety of the service they are delivering to their customers. And in our business, that should be paramount.
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Within the last decade, our industry has embarked upon a significant transformation in the UK, one that is currently still in progress, built upon a foundation of standards and enhanced professionalism. Take a walk along a regular shopping high street in any UK town, and it’s pretty easy to spot those salons which have fully embraced the process against those yet to take the plunge. Of course, investing in a business to keep pace with innovation, trends, standards and professionalism is without doubt a costly exercise – but one that has to be undertaken to survive.
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Salon operators resisting change, perhaps not seeing the opportunities but just the cost, may be under the illusion that if they can hold out for just a little longer until post-Brexit, they will no longer be required to comply with EU regulations currently enforceable in the UK. Thankfully, for the continued and ongoing process of professionalism in our industry, this will absolutely NOT be the case. The Government has already stated that all EU regulation and legislation either already in place or set up for implementation will remain. Standards will be maintained.
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I believe it would be a very sad day indeed, should our industry take a backward step to the days of “pile ‘em high, sell ‘em cheap” in the scope of disregarding standards that have been developed to protect our end customers. In this context, cutting corners to cut costs would, in my opinion, simply be a price too high to pay.
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Investing in a business to keep pace with innovation,
trends, standards and professionalism is without doubt a
costly exercise – but one that has to be undertaken to survive.
