And so, we come to the end of another year. Has that really just happened? Where on Earth have the last 12 months gone?
After the excruciating challenges of 2020, I suspect it is more than reasonable to suggest that everyone was looking forward to a more positive 2021. And, thankfully, in so many, many ways it has indeed been that. Yet, 2021 also brought along its own bag of new challenges that in the cold light of day required another re-think, another re-set and another drive to move forward.
For much of 2020, the business focus was on supporting our salon operator customers as much as we possibly could to ensure they were ready, able and prepared to re-open their facilities post-lockdowns with confidence and vigour. This business focus was something that was essentially within our control and within our ability to commit to and deliver. And to a somewhat lesser degree, that support has remained available and welcomed during much of 2021.
However, we find ourselves at year’s end and as we approach 2022, in yet another body of uncharted waters. Our industry’s bounce-back from the impact of the pandemic has been truly phenomenal and that is as much about the people involved in it as the professional service expected by
our end-customer base. With such positivity and with the economy faring better than expected, salon owners are keen to invest in upgrading and expanding their businesses. And, paradoxically, this is potentially where a new set of “challenges” begins.
Firstly, the worldwide shortage of component parts, shipping and other transport issues have severely impacted the production and delivery of tanning systems for manufacturers around the world across all sectors. This is, of course, a situation that will be resolved in time; but what we all as an industry should be concerned about in the interim is that salon owners may be simply tempted by what products are available. And, unfortunately, that could include poorly-refurbished tanning beds – okay, perhaps looking good on the outside but when it comes to what’s going on inside … Caveat Emptor! Buyer Beware!
I am absolutely not saying that all refurbished equipment is below standard or potentially dangerous. But I am saying there is currently a greater opportunity for this type of product to appear on the market and that is not good for our industry.
Retailers provide the cohesive hub of many communities, both urban and rural. And there can be no doubt the pandemic has irrefutably changed the way we shop, with so much now done online. The result has been the loss of many established, well known brands leaving a copious amount of retail spaces vacant. Of course, tanning salons offer a professional service that cannot be purchased online, which is undoubtedly why we are one of the key business sectors which will help navigate the revitalisation of the retail sector, a stated priority for the government. It is, therefore, somewhat frustrating that the UK’s planning zone application process remains arduous and lengthy, particularly if it requires a “change of use” from one retail type to another, and with no guaranteed outcome.
Essentially, we are not quite out of the woods yet and these remain somewhat challenging times for operators and suppliers alike. They are certainly more palatable challenges than those we have overcome during the last 18 months. As always with uncharted waters, there’s no such thing as plain sailing; but I’m certainly looking forward to the voyage in 2022 – all aboard!
