Beauty Biz

SALON FEATURE
A CUT
ABOVE
THE REST
Adilla Barbers isn’t your normal hair salon
for men. Oh no! Colm and Frankie Flanagan,
and their team are bridging the gap between
hair and skin with an extensive full-service
grooming menu and we asked Colm to walk us
through Adilla and how they’re helping meet
all their clients’ needs, under one roof.
WHAT WAS THE INSPIRATION
BEHIND ADILLA BARBERS?
The inspiration came as I found myself jumping
from barber to barber looking for something
beyond a great haircut. The opportunities for
self-care for men were scarce and a luxury
barbershop seemed like a good place to start.
Increased stress from an accelerating career in
growth marketing coupled with a decrease in
my want to have a “night out” left me with few
options for an experience I enjoyed. I wasn’t
totally comfortable in salons although I had tried
a few. Something in between was what I was
looking for.
And so, an idea was born. What if we could
combine the look, feel and quality of a classic
barbershop with the beauty services and
experience of a salon to ultimately create a
space where men can feel confident enough to
truly relax.
30 Beauty Biz Year 14 Issue 1
WHY DOES HAVING A HAIRCUT
HAVE TO BE A CHORE, OR A TASK,
WHY CAN’T IT BE CONSIDERED A
LUXURY ESCAPE?
When we opened 3 years ago, we knew we
were ahead of the curve in creating a destination
for men, so we spent a lot of time educating
the market around us. The goal here was to
incorporate facials, treatments, skin care and
products into our services whilst taking the time
to explain the benefits.
Although visiting a more traditional salon is
fine, men and women do have different skin
problems, different needs and require a different
frequency of appointments. Salons with colour
and extension services have thousands of
dollars’ worth of products in-store, so a men’s cut
is deemed a dead service in a hair salon because
the upsell opportunity and average spend is low.
Learning this made me realise why I would feel
less welcomed in a ‘salon’ environment.
Other barber shops on the market, at the time, all
had a sailor jerry’s feel. We didn’t want a novelty
shop, so our designer’s brief was to come up with
something that is modern, relaxing and inviting.
All of this was considered when creating the
aesthetic, theme and well researched menu at
Adilla Barbers.
HOW DID YOUR BUSINESS EVOLVE
AND CHANGE OVER THE EVENTS OF
THE LAST 12 MONTHS?
The change has been quite significant, we have
completely shifted our business in the last 12
months. For a number of reasons; COVID related
and non-COVID related.
Non-COVID related; the market has begun to
catch up in men’s grooming and ‘self-care’. We
have gone from pitching our deluxe services to
clients requesting them regularly. This forced us