KiddyCuts: Selling haircuts based on concept of love

Jonminofri Nazir, The Jakarta Post, Contributor

In the eyes of children, Kids Station is distinctly different from KiddyCuts although the two shops are both designed for children.

For them, the first is a dream world with a great variety of alluring toys and accessories that could be seen, enjoyed and purchased. Exciting Barbie dolls, model trains, colorful bags, clothes and footwear, are just a few examples. Children usually enter Kids Station outlets with broad smiles and leave with complaints or even in tears, asking for something or extra time.

On the other hand, children might view KiddyCuts as a scary place. It has several toys and an interior designed to be appealing to children but the entire atmosphere might be seen by many as a place which is not child-friendly at all. No, it's not only due to the scissors and all the other barber's gadgets, that are intimidating for kids. In terms of size, it is much smaller than a Kids Station shop.

First-time visitors may find it unpleasant to be brought here by their parents. Some become stressful, nervous and afraid.

Budi Santoso, director of KiddyCuts, did not deny this.

"Children usually find their first haircut a scary experience," he said.

But kids' traumatic first haircut experience at the place has not driven KiddyCuts to close. Its business has instead grown steadily and has even gained popularity among children, parents and the media thanks to a careful but simple marketing strategy.

After only nine months operation, KiddyCuts has already opened its second outlet at the busy Taman Anggrek Mall in West Jakarta.

Despite their differences, Kids Station and KiddyCuts share many things in common. They both cater to children's needs. Both are located at major malls in Jakarta and are designed to appeal to children.

Of course, there is no denying that everything offered in Kids Station appeals to children -- not so in KiddyCuts. This barbershop for children has only a limited variety of toys. However, although the shop measures only 64 square meters, it creates a playful atmosphere for children.

The two businesses have been built on the basis of a concept of love for children. Therefore, both have nothing that may intimidate children. The only thing that will scare children away at KiddyCuts is the presence of many strangers, all with barber scissors in hand. So, whoever the children are, this sight is sure to scare them when they first come into this kids-only barbershop.

Therefore, said Budi, managing KiddyCuts was not as easy as it was first imagined when the shop was being planned. It is worthy of note that this place was designed by seven people, all having their own business expertise in their respective areas. One of them is Rudy Hadisuwarno, a famous name in the industry.

While it is true that children will be frightened when they first come into KiddyCuts, it is interesting to note that this place has finally been successful in selling its hair-cut services for children.

Its success story has been reported by almost all television stations in this country.

"We realize that there is a new kind of service for children," said Budi.

Prior to its establishment, there was no such place in Jakarta or elsewhere across the country. In fact, children need a haircut at least once a month. Given this reality, the seven investors, without any market research or complicated feasibility studies, agreed to pool their money to set up this barbershop at Plaza Senayan, Central Jakarta.

When the shop first opened, the first problem that immediately came up was, how to promote the new service to the public and persuade them to try it.

Finally, KiddyCuts decided to use a common, simple promotion strategy by printing brochures and distributing discount cards to clients and visitors at Plaza Senayan. Therefore, the management needed no extra budget for ads in the print or broadcast media.

And it worked. The brochures went into the hands of the right people: the mothers. The presence of this barber shop became the talk among them.

"Generally, these mothers would like to have the pleasing experience that their friends have got," said Budi.

Finally, to some people, taking their children for a haircut at KiddyCuts has become a lifestyle. This means that this barbershop is not only functional but that it can give an added value to the consumers. That's why these consumers -- parents -- are ready to fork out more money for their children's haircut than their own.

In fact it is not difficult for KiddyCuts to lure more customers.

If all the parents that take their children to Plaza Senayan also take the children to KiddyCuts, the place will be too small to accommodate them all, especially on holidays or at weekends.

Clearly, the market is segmented: children who go to Plaza Senayan or Taman Anggrek Mall. Their parents are usually well- educated and earn above average, one reason why they are ready to buy satisfaction at a high price.

However, it is not so easy to get children, or, even parents, to come to KiddyCuts twice. This largely depends on the barber's ability to persuade the children to sit still for a while during the haircut.

As for parents, it is not easy for them to trust other people to cut the hair of their beloved children. It is here that the difficulty of this business lies.

Someone who cuts the hair of children needs great patience and should really love children. It often happens that children do not like to be in the presence of strangers, especially when these strangers are holding something that the children have never seen before. Therefore, to facilitate the process, for each chair there is a flat screen and high-resolution television set which produces excellent pictures. This television may capture children's attention so that they sit still watching Teletubbies or other films. In the meantime, the barber can start his work.

An easy start may not mean that the whole process will be easy. It may happen that the child will run out to get some food or for some other activities and will not be back until some time later, 30 minutes to a few hours later. "This often happens," Budi said.

If everything goes smoothly, which is quite rare, it will take between 20 minutes and 30 minutes to cut the hair of children. Usually, it is shorter than the time needed for an adult to have a haircut. The reason? The haircut styles for children are usually fewer in number than those for adults.

Therefore, the main difficulty in this business activity is the recruitment of barbers skilled at winning the hearts of children. They must be patient and willing to play with children. It may happen that a child comes not because he's ready for a haircut, but rather because he wants to enter the shop or tinker with the 12 television stations. Just imagine when the chairs are full and that some other children come in only to play around and mix with the crowd inside.

Perhaps it is easier to sell candies to children compared to selling a haircut service.

In the case of candies, the return that the producer gains is much bigger because candies are never produced in a small number. When you have candies to sell, the most important thing for you to do is to promote them on TV. If your promotion is successful, children will seek these candies even at small kiosks.

In the case of a haircut for children, the producer will have to work extra hard. The first thing to do will be to convince the parents and this, surely, is challenging.

KiddyCuts has taught us something we can learn from.