Our region has become the second in the country where the beauty services sector is most addicted to the pandemic (from March 2020 to March 2021). After Tomsk (reduction of beauty salons by 38%), in Saratov the reduction was 29%, in third place was Tyumen (27%). Such data was recently provided by analysts of the 2GIS geoservice research and the platform with secure transactions “SberServices”.
“The pandemic has significantly raised prices,” comments Natalia Panferova, head of the Saratov regional branch of Opora Rossii, director of the Diva aesthetic medicine center. – If earlier the hairdresser was obliged to use only gloves, now he has to work in a disposable cap, gown and mask. A disposable gown costs 150 rubles, can you imagine how many gowns need to be changed in one shift ?! Plus the obligatory presence of recirculators in hairdressing salons, beauty salons – devices for cleaning and disinfecting air. As well as antiseptics, masks for visitors. But we cannot raise the prices for services – there are already fewer clients since the beginning of the pandemic. Consumer demand has dropped. Therefore, I am not surprised that some salons in Saratov have closed. In addition, a huge army of “homeworkers” is growing in the regional center. They do not need to fulfill sanitary requirements, pay taxes, purchase a cash register, etc., and these factors, in my opinion, played a significant role: clients went home to their craftsmen. Yes, the tax inspectorate is now actively tackling the illegal business, and I hope that sooner or later, this situation will be resolved. With regard to statistics: that, allegedly, 29% of beauty salons have closed in Saratov, it is not entirely clear to me how the numbers were calculated. After all, you need to take into account the indicator: the number of beauty salons, hairdressing salons per 1,000 people. In Saratov, in the last few years before the pandemic, there was an oversupply of the beauty market: hairdressing salons, beauty salons, manicure salons were opening literally at every step. “