Clipping competition

With at least 20 listed haircut businesses in Portland, residents have plenty of options. And two more have recently opened their doors.
Great Clips, located at 1041 W. Votaw St., opened on July 27. Upperkuts — another new business — opened on July 22. The salon, located at 101 Main St., is already busy, owner Markie Lemaster said.
“The shop we were in closed down, so those girls came with me and a few others came with me as well,” Lemaster said. “It’s going really well.”
And she’s not worried about all of the competition.
“Our [customers] are pretty regular, I think,” she said. “Once you get your clientele up, and they’re happy, they tend to stay.”
And she doesn’t market salon specials based on what other salons are doing.
“It’s more based off the clients than other salons,” LeMaster said.
Stephanie Turpin, manager at Great Clips, said the large number of other similar businesses in the area don’t concern her.
“The thing about Great Clips is we don’t have to compete with full service salons because we just do haircuts,” she said.
Typically, Great Clips haircuts are $12 for customers 11 to 65-years-old and $11 for children under 10 and people over 65.
Right now, the salon is offering $4.99 haircuts.
And the business is already busy, she said. “We’ve been hitting records. They’re coming from all over.”
That won’t change, Turpin said, when the salon starts charging its regular prices.
“I think we’ll be good,” she said. “I’m positive about that.”
Rebecca Matchett, owner of Beck’s Hair-Em, said she’s been working in her Main St. salon for 16 years and a little competition never hurt anyone.
“If we have competition, I think it tends to keep us on our toes,” she said.
Although she said she doesn’t have very many new customers, she averages about 30 to 40 a week.
Hair Candy, also located on Main St., gets close to the same number of patrons, co-owner Angela Schlosser said.
Unlike many other businesses, Schlosser said she thinks she’ll lose some clients to Great Clips, even though the prices are similar. Hair Candy charges $13 for a haircut.
“I think they’re going to take some of the men and kids’ haircuts,” she said. “And they have longer hours so I think that will take some of the clients.”
But client Betty Carter said she drives from Montpelier and is a regular at Hair Candy.
“I’m going to stay here,” she said.
Rhonda Brown, co-owner of Clippers on Main St. said the shop has been opened in Portland for 20 years.
“I have a pretty steady clientele,” she said. “The same ones over and over again.”
The Jay County Chamber of Commerce doesn’t have record of exactly how many haircutting businesses there are in Portland because most aren’t registered commerce members.
But there are at least four on Meridian St., one of which is a barber shop, and another five on Main St. Those doesn’t include the salons operating out of people’s homes.
“I’m not threatened by all the other shops,” Matchett said. “I’ve found people will always get their hair cut. It’s part of life.”[[In-content Ad]]