Sue Roberts has been cutting and colouring hair for 20 years, working with leading stylists Toni & Guy in Britain and Asia, as well as hairdressers Daniel Galvin and Trevor Sorbie in London. Along with Patrick Chu, who set up hip local hair salon Private i, Roberts is now director of Toni & Guy's first salon in Hong Kong and China, which opened on Wyndham Street last Wednesday.
Q: Why has Toni & Guy decided to open in Hong Kong during an economic downturn?
A: Toni & Guy is an established brand name in 33 countries, and a Chinese salon has been a long time in the planning - well before any talk of a recession. The right location was key, for example, and it took more than a year to find the premises we wanted. Hong Kong is an important market for us. Top-end hairdressing salons are already well catered for here and we're not in competition with them. Toni & Guy wants to be more accessible to a broader spectrum of people.
Q: Is the Hong Kong salon similar to the ones in Europe and the United States?
A: Almost identical. All salons follow the same format in look, stylist training, working systems and so on. People can go into any Toni & Guy salon in any country and know they'll get the same customer care and standard of cut as at their regular salon.
Q: Where have your hairdressers trained?