We are seeing the impact of COVID-19 all over the country, with many businesses shutting their doors. This time, the pandemic victim is an award-winning hair salon in Auckland.
After a decade in operation, the iconic French Revolver Studio will close its doors on February 22 due to what its owner calls "COVID madness".
"It took a pandemic to stop us, which is not a bad thing to think," owner Brad Lepper said.
The globally recognised hairstylist said the main reason for the closure was the inability to find staff with the country's borders shut.
The brand is internationally recognised and has had hairdressers from the UK, Australia and France come to work for them, but with New Zealand borders not fully opening up until October and a risk of an Omicron outbreak in the salon looming, Lepper has made the difficult decision to close.
Lepper said he has been inundated with phone calls from salons who are in similar situations.
Most bigger salons are able to make it through another year of COVID-19 because they have the ability to create work bubbles to prevent the whole salon from shutting if an outbreak occurs, Lepper says.
"Our bubble is very, very small."
The French Revolver Studio lost five staff members last year, leaving Lepper with three other hairdressers. He even enlisted a recruiter to try and find someone, but to no avail.
"There haven't been hairdressers for years," he said. "Even before the pandemic, it's always been very slim to try find hairdressers."
With financial support for businesses harder to come by under the traffic light system, the French Revolver Studio would have lost all its revenue for weeks if COVID-19 made its way into the salon.
"I think small businesses out there are really going to hurt," Lepper says.
He says he knows the Government is doing the best it can in this environment, but it needs to remember New Zealand has a lot of small businesses that need help.
"We need to really start thinking about how we are going to grow industries in the country instead of just maintaining what we've got, which is what we are doing."
French Revolver Studio is not the first to go and certainly not the last.
"The word on the street is I'm not the first to go, I may be the biggest at this stage that's going," Lepper said.
He says New Zealand is not growing a sustainable hairdressing industry.
Most people only stay in hairdressing for a couple of years and many still view it as something school dropouts do, rather than a viable career, Lepper says.
He says in the UK there is amazing training for hairdressers and it's a career path for many.
"The industry has changed, but the perception in New Zealand hasn't."
The hairstylist of 22 years is not leaving the industry but rather focusing on his passion for creative work and hairdressing education, and is looking into renting a chair at another salon so he can continue hairdressing.
He said people have responded to the news of the French Revolver Studio closing by crying.
Many took to Instagram to express their gratitude for the work the hairdressers have done, including Kiwi music artist Jupiter Project and radio host Jay-Jay Feeney
"You do create almost this second home for them," Lepper says.
Lepper said he is going to miss the salon and all the amazing people that walked through the door.
"This is not the last of us, but for now we have to shut the doors."
