homeland around seven years ago and now has 38 stores in the North American country, averaging an opening of one to two stores a month. With over 110 salons nationwide, Australian hair care retailer Price Attack decided a few years ago to partner with TG brand owner Chatter, which also has over 100 salons. Having a very similar business model and support office set-up, as well as selling the same type of products, the partnership was viewed as a natural alignment. Launching Tommy Gun’s locally was also considered a good fit with the Australian market, according to Price Attack and Tommy Gun’s Australia operations manager, Sam Jarred. The concept was tweaked and ‘Australianised’ to address subtle differences between the two markets. For example, you can get a beer at the first TG store at Westfield Carindale, but you can’t in Canada. A bar even greets customers at the front of the Carindale store. “We wanted to make the point of sale area quite unique,” Jarred explains. “Typically, part of that barber shop experience is when you go in, you stand and look around and everyone is a bit awkward. So we decided to make the point of sale area a bar, so whenever you get a service at Tommy Gun’s you will get a free beer or beverage.” In Queensland, no license is required if an alcoholic beverage is provided free – but no more than two can be given per customer per day. A beverage – such as a soft drink, water or coffee – is included in every service, as well as a scalp massage, hot towel treatment and full wash. Investing in atmosphere To create the atmosphere, the biggest investment in Tommy Gun’s is in the fitout. The interior features a retro, industrial decor with a mix of textures including timber and exposed brick, as well as a strong red branding element. “It’s a 1930s Chicago-era style of a gentleman’s grooming environment,” Jarred explains. “We purposely didn’t make it too exclusive – we want it to be a very ‘masstige’ [prestige for the masses] brand and have fairly broad appeal. A number of other features set the store apart from the usual barbershop fare. A digital check-in system allows customers to see how long they need to wait, so they are free to wander the shopping centre or attend to other appointments in the meantime. The company developed this solution from the original Canadian version, so customers can also receive a text message notifying them of when their appointment is coming up. Customers can also choose to wait at the central waiting area in front of the store, which features large screen TVs (showing sports, naturally), iPads and video games. This area is 15sqm within the common area of the shopping centre, while the main area of the store is 77sqm. A fully male grooming service Another drawcard is the technology Tommy Gun’s utilises. Each barber station includes a ‘hidden’ TV enclosed within the mirror, which allows clients to choose from 11 Foxtel channels to watch while getting their hair cute. “You can watch sport, news or whatever while getting your hair done,” boasts Jarred. “It is really designed to be a full male grooming experience. The TV comes on within the bottom of the mirror, leaving the rest of it reflecting and visible to the stylist so they can work with it.” Another distinguishing difference at Tommy Gun’s is the retail offering itself. In Canada the retail component is about seven to eight per cent of the total business, but for Australia Jarred chose to build in a much larger retail component. The Carindale store sells number of imported brands within the shave, skin care, hair care, electrical and gift categories. “We’ve expanded it out significantly,” Jarred. “There’s five and a half metres of retail space with fully customised displays – straight razors, shave brushes, sharpening straps.” The Carindale store is performing above forecast expectations, according to Jarred. “To date it has performed exceptionally well, exceeding our initial sales projections by over 40 per cent,” MD Cory Anderson reveals. The next Tommy Gun’s store is due to open on October 1 in Darwin at Casuarina Square – the Northern Territory’s largest shopping centre. This will be followed by a second Brisbane store, at Westfield Chermside, on October 6. A third Brisbane store will open at Westfield Garden City in February 2016. By the middle of 2016, seven stores are planned to be operational, with 10 by the end of next year. “Since we built the first one, all the Westfield team came in and had a look at it, and we’ve been offered a number of sites now,” Jarred boasts. “We’re looking at all the major centres nationally. The intention is to expand nationally because we see a massive opportunity.”