After working in salons with unhealthy, competitive environments for years, Ottawa stylist Michelle Nguyen decided the industry needed a change. Her ideas of collaboration and eco-friendliness paved the way for a salon chain that’s now sweeping across Ontario.
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After working in salons with unhealthy, competitive environments for years, Ottawa stylist Michelle Nguyen decided the industry needed a change. Her ideas of collaboration and eco-friendliness paved the way for a salon chain that’s now sweeping across Ontario.
Michelle and her architect husband John Nguyen opened the first Hair Republic location at 1093 Bank St. in 2011. The business has since expanded to three locations in Ottawa, and recently opened a fourth in Toronto through a national partnership with the Hudson’s Bay Company.
Michelle attributes much of the success to the collaborative environment she’s been able to foster. As a burgeoning stylist, she learned from many talented people, but also worked for mentors who preferred giving orders over teaching. They expected her to specialize in everything, and that created negative relationships between her and her colleagues.
Now, the Hair Republic manager says she avoids these pitfalls by talking daily with employees and encouraging their strengths. Some of her stylists, like Paul and Diana, have become experts with colour and texture, respectively.
“I wanted a space where I would manage, but it would be collaborative,” Michelle says. “I’ll learn as much from someone coming into this industry as they’ll learn from me.”
The architectural principles incorporated by John have been just as critical to the business. Floor-to-ceiling windows let in natural light that helps clients see their true hair tone, where cool or warm overhead lighting could mislead them.
“They might love it in the hair salon, but then go outside and see a completely different tone. What they see in the mirror is what you want them to see outside,” Michelle says.
With the long, narrow room of the first location on Bank Street, John had to optimize the use of space. He says it’s important to prevent clients and stylists from bumping into each other when moving between hair washing and cutting stations.
“You want to minimize common walkways,” John says, explaining why stations are parallel to one another. “In the storefront, we also wanted to display retail to convey that this salon sells hair care products.”
Hair Republic stylists build stronger connections with clients by prescribing the products the store sells. This is strengthened by the eco-friendly inventory; Michelle says the store’s vegan, hypoallergenic, and sulfate-free options are healthier for hair and more cost-effective now that they’re “all the rage” at salons.
Since 2011, Michelle and John have worked with Green Circle Salons, a Toronto company seeking to reduce waste in the industry by recycling dyeing tubes, bottles, and even hair.
“They reuse the hair to make fibres, fabrics and those hair (mats) that suck up oil spills because hair is so porous and effective in that instance,” Michelle says.
The Hudson’s Bay Company, wanting to partner with younger brands, approached the couple in the fall of 2020 to discuss opening a new location in one of the major retailer’s locations. This was Michelle and John’s best shot to expand into Toronto, but first they needed to familiarize themselves with the shopping centre conglomerate. They started with the Freiman Mall on Rideau Street, where HBC has a long-term lease, and in 2023 expanded into Toronto with a new location in Sherwood Gardens.
The unfamiliar market taught them valuable lessons, such as how to centralize the business’s purchasing habits by buying in bulk. Michelle and John travel to Toronto regularly to manage the new location.
John says they’re toying with the idea of franchising, but it would not come at the expense of their core values or creativity – they would strive to remain flexible and “boutique.” Michelle, who loves teaching, wants to start a stylist school to combat ongoing labour shortages and has considered building a network of salon operators to help them elevate industry standards.
In the meantime, Michelle is more than happy to continue mentoring Hair Republic’s stylists: “I was mentored by some of the best and I’m (now) able to teach individuals coming into the industry. I’m super-fulfilled that I get to teach something that I love to do.”
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