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Toni demonstrates why he’s a guy whose business is a cut above
Italian Toni Mascolo opened his first hairdressing salon with brother Gaetano in 1963. Today, the Toni & Guy chain has more than 230 salons in the UK, a further 175 globally, and annual turnover in excess of £175m. The business runs 27 hairdressing academies globally, which train an average of 100,000 hairdressers every year. Mascolo received an Italian Knighthood in 2006 and in 2008, an OBE. The boys from Naples have done well.
Another thing in the brothers’ favour in the early years was their speed. “I remember Christmas Eve 1964,” says Toni. “I did 59 clients that day and Guy did 66. We opened at 5.30am and didn’t stop until 9pm. Then we had a few drinks with the girls in the shop to celebrate.” It’s that sort of work ethic that set the Mascolo brothers apart.
But early on the brothers, soon to be joined by their two other brothers, spotted an opportunity. The women would come in and ask about haircuts for their husbands. So the Mascolos opened, what Toni claims, was the first unisex salon in the world and the business took off.
“Then we started doing a lot of shows, and we came up with product ideas, such as types of gel and mousse. We produced books of our hair styles and cuts and soon we were travelling to America, Japan, everywhere.”
It was while Toni was in America that he came across the concept of franchising, something the boys applied to their business and one of the reasons for its global success. So today, the Mascolos only own 20 of the 230 UK salons outright.
But as with many Italians, it is the family that is central. “I think working with family has a lot of advantages,” Toni says. “You work as a team, have shared responsibilities and great loyalty. But you must have clear job descriptions and you need to have set guidelines when it comes to the financial side of the business.”
And there’s a good reason for this: “We used to split the profit down the middle, Guy and I,” says Toni. “But while I would be very economical and try to keep all the profits in the company, Guy would spend the profits. So we decided that we would put a set amount of money in the pot to grow the business and we would only keep our own profits, not split both of our profit.”
Going forward, Toni says 2009 is a time for opportunities, a time when the best brands and products on the market will do well.
And despite the success and awards, he still cuts hair in his Bond Street salon. “Where would you rather be, sat in an office all week or in the salon talking to customers and meeting people? I love it.”
This interview was previously featured on the Telegraph Business Club website
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