Yuba City salon making Headlines

Headlines Salon & Spa in Yuba City is indeed making headlines.

These days, people are inundated with bad news stemming from the recessionary economy: stores closing and businesses going bankrupt, not to mention the federal bailouts, massive layoffs and collapsing global markets. But Headlines Salon & Spa is bucking the trend.

The Richland Road business said its retail sales in December — a month in which sales figures plummeted nationally — were up 8 percent. Headlines' retail sales so far this year are up 45 percent over the same period in 2008. And the spa was booked solid for the Valentine's Day weekend.

How did they do it?

Kristi Goldby, business partner and daughter of the salon's owner, Marsha Miller, said they had to re-evaluate every part of their business.

The upscale salon provides a full range of hairstyling services for men and women as well as manicures, pedicures, facials, waxing, massage, body treatments and reflexology. Exotic treatments such as Ice Cream Pedicure, Hot Stone Massage and Peppermint Sea Twist Body Care are among their offerings. There's even a 51⁄2-hour "Ultimate" spa retreat.

The shop sells the Redken and Pureology lines of hair products and the Image and Repechage series of skin products. Although service sales remained flat, according to Goldby, the upsurge in sales of hair and skin products is significant because, under Headlines' business model, their profitability relies almost entirely on retail sales.

One thing Miller and Goldby did to meet the challenges of the poor economy was to discount services, something they traditionally had never done.

At a January symposium held by Redken, a leader in hair care and styling products, they were told that the "rules have changed" for business, given the economic climate.

"You have to have your client base coming back in. You have to change the ways you do business to make sure that happens," said Goldby. "Our best source of new customers are referred by clients."

To facilitate this, they changed their rules for rewarding client referrals. Whereas they used to give a $20 discount after five referrals, they now do so after one — and they give the $20 discount to both the client who made the referral as well as the new customer.

"Clients don't want a job," said Goldby, referring to the previous five-referral requirement. "You have to make the rewards significant and immediate."

The salon also has made good use of the Internet.

They send out a monthly letter to their list of 4,800 clients and also blast e-mails on a weekly basis offering specials.

For example, for an underbooked day, they may send out a blast e-mail saying they'll give 10 to 20 percent discounts if clients make appointments for that day. Last Tuesday, they sent out a blast and booked seven appointments for Wednesday as a direct result of the blast.

Headlines has its own Internet site, www.headlinesyc.com. According to Goldby, 90 percent of their new customers who aren't referred come via the Internet. Another portion of their business derives from gift-certificate sales on the Web site, which are up 5 percent this year. She said gift-certificate purchases for spa packages or hair-care services on birthdays, Mother's Day, Valentine's Day, etc., are popular among out-of-town residents who have friends or relatives in the area.

Finally, Miller and Goldby went about cutting costs. This included things as small as training staff to be conscious of how much shampoo they are using.

"When you're not paying for it, it's easy to pump (the shampoo) 10 times," said Goldby.

There were also big ways to cut costs. Miller shopped around for workers' compensation insurance and found a package that cost almost half of what they'd been paying.

They hired an accounting firm, allowing them to know such things as cost per service and exactly what they have to do in terms of sales and inventory, making them more efficient.

Miller, originally from Fort Jones in Siskiyou County, has been in the hairstyling business 38 years, first taking classes at the Beauty College on Palora Avenue. She opened Headlines in 1985 in the back annex of the old strip mall that has been replaced by the Yuba Sutter Mall.

With the construction of the new mall, Miller's salon was moved out and it bounced around until finding its present quarters in 1995. Miller owns the 3,000-square-foot building, located near the intersection of Richland and Bunce roads.

In addition to targeting the upscale market, Miller said the biggest difference that Headlines has with its Yuba-Sutter counterparts is that it's employee-based as opposed to retaining stylists and technicians who are independent contractors, which the vast majority of hair salons use.

In hiring employees, the business not only offers educational opportunities but requires training on an ongoing basis. Hairstylists attend courses on cutting and coloring hair, of course, but they also are trained in the business of hair salons: booking appointments, selling products, looking the part, giving good customer service.

Besides Miller and Goldby, Headlines has 11 employees which include hairstylists, estheticians, nail technicians, massage therapists and front-desk personnel. They made three hires in the last month and are looking to hire three more: a hairstylist, an esthetician and a nail tech.

They say their long-term goal is to operate seven days a week, which would require about double the number of employees currently on staff.

"Our employees are committed to building the business, cross-promoting (services within the business) ... everybody works together," said Miller.

To this end, they hold meetings with staff once a month, in groups or individually, on how to improve the business, with a laser beam on customer service. Some other ideas: sending birthday cards to customers, having new clients wear a different color cape so they get special attention.

Miller said their employees are people who like the structure, who don't want to run their own business. They also like the training opportunities, she added.

The owners demand a lot from their staff, but they also try to make it a congenial environment.

"We try to be flexible so they can do their things with their families, as long as we can make it work," said Miller.

Headlines also has an apprentice program in which trainees work on hair under their supervision for a little more than half the regular price. Goldby said this program, on Fridays, is a way to make their high-end services available at a lower price.

And high-end it is. Most of their clientele are professional women.

There are different price levels depending on the experience, training and professional development of the stylist. Fees range from $105 for a cut and highlight from a junior stylist to $135 with a master stylist.

Facials and massages are $68 per hour. Their top spa treatment costs $310.

They've held several men's nights, with barbeque and television to attract the guys to their services such as massage, skin care and waxing for backs and noses.

Headlines added the spa in November 2004. A consultant designed the spa area of the facility to best utilize the space. They left out a sauna and Jacuzzi because they came to the conclusion that people don't want to sit around for three hours — they lead busy lives and want to get in and out.

Goldby joined her mother's business in April 2004. A 1988 graduate of Yuba City High School, she initially didn't want to go into her mother's business, but decided to come on board so Miller could eventually slow down. The daughter plans to stay and develop the business.

She gained extensive experience in the service industry, serving as office manager of the Phoenix Firebirds, the former Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants, as personnel coordinator of guest services for the Portland Trailblazers, and as director of guest services of the Sacramento River Cats.

This career experience shows in Headline's slick brochure, Web site, professional-caliber press release, and emphasis on customer service.

"My mom had the vision and the knowledge of hairstyling," said Goldby, "I handle the marketing and training" and areas such as setting up a proper compensation scale for employees.

Goldby said she wants people in Yuba-Sutter to know that they don't have to go out of town for a nice salon or spa experience. She said the community often has low expectations and doesn't always support local business.

"Every day we hear people say, 'I didn't know you were here,'" said Goldby. "We want to let people know of our success. We want to give them value for dollar and say hello when they come in and know their name and say thank you when they leave."

• LOCATION: 878 Richland Rd., Yuba City

• HOURS: Tuesday and Thursday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Wednesday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Friday and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

• PHONE: 674-7571

• WEB SITE: www.headlinesyc.com

Contact Appeal reporter Mike Hatamiya at 741-2400; or mhata miya@appeal-democrat.com