Wella takes the field again to bring a request under the scrutiny of the institutions to give new impetus to the hairdressing salon segment, a sector already wounded by the pandemic which is facing a stagnant market context. On 30 January at Palazzo Montecitorio, seat of the Chamber of Deputies, during the second edition of “Arts and professions of Italian excellence – Wella Award for the best Italian salons”, in the presence of ladies and senators, there will be talk of the reduction ‘VAT from 22 to 10% on the services provided by hairdressers which would represent a valid intervention in favor of salons, also triggering a virtuous mechanism to boost consumption. The initiative complements the 2020 bill in the Chamber for the establishment of a professional register.
In other European countries such as the Netherlands, for example, for hairdressing services the VAT was lowered from 19 to 6%, initially settling down – to date – at 9% and the positive implications can be seen: increases in turnover for the sector, increases in jobs and important successes against the underground economy, the company says. Also in England the #SaveOurSalons campaign is recent, asking the Government to reduce VAT for hairdressers from 20 to 5%, as it has done for the hospitality sector.
And they explain that «The request to lower VAT to 10% appears all the more urgent and in line with the European Union, which recently approved a Directive with which it confirmed the category of hairdressers among those to which each Member State can allocate a reduced taxation up to a maximum of 5%. The Directive will enter into force on 1 January 2025 and the States will have to transpose its provisions by the end of 2024. Each Member State can grant the reduction with respect to only two services among those identified. The next two years are, therefore, decisive for the requests of the hairdressers to materialize in a regulatory text».
Athina Nikolaidou, general manager of Wella Company Italy and Greece, outlines the picture of the sector in Italy: «According to data from Cosmetica Italia, there are around 100,000 hairdressing salons employing 230,000 people. The category remains the second, in terms of turnover, in the craft sector, after the construction one. The concentration of salons, by number of inhabitants, is the highest in Europe. The hairdressing market held up with a 2022 that closes, in terms of revenues, with a slight positive trend towards 2021, while still remaining below 2019 (pre-covid reference year), and confirming, once again time, that beauty suffers less from the economic and social crisis than other sectors. The salons resumed work as soon as the health rules allowed it (the category suffered 2 moments of closure due to lockdown) but in different ways ».
And she continues: «The change in consumer habits, also dictated by a new lifestyle and work style, has led to a decrease in the frequency of visits to the salon and less loyalty to the salon. A positive note left by the rules of the pandemic is instead the obligation of the appointment which has improved the consumer experience in the salons, also guaranteed by the greater attention and quality of the services provided. The salon owner’s commitment has therefore turned to increasing the services provided per single visit, with a consequent increase in the value of the receipt, and reducing management costs. Salons that managed to balance the cost/revenue equation ended 2022 with a net profit comparable to that of 2019».