Beauty salons and personal care services now represent more than 35% of local leisure and recreational sites in smaller high streets across the UK, according to new research. The sector accounts for almost a third of all leisure venues in UK retail centres, with hair and beauty salons alone matching the combined share of pubs, bars and cafés.
Sector reaches 190,000 sites nationwide
The Impact Of Beauty report, produced by Oxford Economics for the British Beauty Council and backed by L'Oréal, found there are more than 190,000 beauty and personal care sites across the UK, with 39% located outside large cities. Greater London has the highest concentration, with just under 25,000 outlets – roughly 13% of the national total.
Greater Manchester and the West Midlands follow with approximately 8,450 and 7,100 establishments respectively, representing around 4.4% and 3.7% of the national total.
Regional concentration higher per capita
On a per-capita basis, regional areas carry a greater concentration of such businesses, highlighting the sector's growing importance in towns and villages. Greater London has about two-and-a-half beauty and personal care establishments per 1,000 residents, while regions such as Lancashire, Devon and Torbay, and York and North Yorkshire exceed three per 1,000.
Millie Kendall, chief executive of the British Beauty Council, said: "At a time when we are thinking seriously about well-being, loneliness, high-street regeneration and economic participation, we need to recognise the role that beauty businesses and professionals already play in communities across Britain."
Consumer spending on personal care rises
The report says beauty and personal care should be understood not simply as a consumer sector, but as part of the social and local infrastructure of everyday life in Britain, and as such must be safeguarded now and in the future. A survey within the report shows the average person spends £27 per month on products and services, dedicating an average of 13 minutes each day to beauty and personal care.
Thierry Cheval, managing director and chairman of L'Oreal Groupe UK & Ireland, said the findings confirm beauty "has an impact in every postcode across the UK, from our homes to our high streets". He added it was "a sector with a presence in every corner of the country, a role in people's confidence and well-being, and a place in the daily rhythm of national life".
The report follows the Value Of Beauty report published earlier this year, which revealed the sector employs around 422,000 people. The per-capita number of beauty and personal care sites per region, according to the Impact Of Beauty report, is: Lancashire 3.1, Devon and Torbay 3.1, York and North Yorkshire 3.4, Greater Manchester 2.9, Greater Lincolnshire 2.9, North East 2.9, Tees Valley 2.8, South Yorkshire 2.8, West Yorkshire 2.8, and East Midlands 2.8.
