Engineer: There’s money in the ‘gentleman’s cut’

Stuart Wayne Violanda sees a bright future in the Tuf Barbershop venture.
(VIOLANDAE’S FB)

An industrial engineer by profession with 10 years of experience doing sales in the pharmaceutical industry, 37-year-old Stuart Wayne Violanda never thought he would be where he is today.

Violanda, president and chief executive officer of theurbanfade inc., currently oversees the operations of five TUF Barbershops all over Cebu City.

“What inspired me (to put up this business) was not being satisfied with where I was going whenever I was getting my haircuts. It was a hit-and-miss every time,” Violanda said in an interview with Cebu Daily News.

Born in Manila, but raised in Cebu City, Violanda finished his degree in Industrial Engineering at the University of San Carlos and has worked for two large pharmaceutical companies for a decade.

It was more than two years ago when Violanda met Cebuano barber Willow Hoods, who offered to give him a haircut in the style TUF is known today — the fade or “gentleman’s cut.”

Originating in ethnic barbershops, “fade” has become a popular term for an aggressively light taper in men’s hair where hair at the sides and back is cut as close as possible with clippers and “fades,” or tapers, up into almost any length on top.

Violanda said he was so impressed by Hoods’ passion for barbering and realized how much Cebu could benefit from this.

The entrepreneur partnered with his former colleagues from his past job, RJ Quiambao and Reece Cagasan, as well as with his childhood friend, J Lanete, and thus the TUF Barbershop was born.

Their other partners are Hoods, who sits as the company’s creative director, and Nyor Ken Cuizon, who serves as their marketing director.

Tuf Barbershop opens

It was in July 2015 when the group opened their first barbershop at the Capitol Square along Escario Street, shelling out at least P1.8 million for capitalization, which was pooled from their individual savings.

Violanda said the group wanted to create a shop that would specialize in “the fade technique” and cater to the gentlemen of Cebu, considering how the local market is dominated by mainstream salons.

The shop showcases a modern-contemporary look with a black-white-red motif, a television set, and a minibar to provide a homey experience for customers.

Their first shop, spanning 60 square meters, started with only four barber chairs, but now it has six barber chairs.

“For the first few months, business wasn’t that good. But on our fifth or sixth month, because of Facebook and Instagram as well as word of mouth marketing and a few connections, news about TUF spread quickly. Acceptance was very good and slowly, it became a household name,” said Violanda.

At the onset, the main branch used to get only 12 customers on average daily, but by the end of 2015, it served 25 customers per day.

It grew to 30 customers per day in 2016 and to 45 per day on average this year, said Violanda.

Majority of their customers are college students and young professionals, but their market base has grown to include boys and men of all ages.

Panagdait branch

They eventually expanded and set up their first branch in Bonifacio District along F. Cabahug Street in Sitio Panagdait, Barangay Kasambagan, Cebu City.

From 12 employees in their first shop, they now have 24 people working in their 2 barbershops.

In July 2016, TUF was put up for franchising and has since opened new branches at the Ayala Center Cebu, in Talamban, and Avida Tower II at the Cebu IT Park.

While the company only owns two branches, Violanda said he makes sure to check on the three franchises as well, to ensure that the operations continue running smoothly.

TUF has already gotten inquiries from franchisees based in Iloilo, Davao, Bacolod, Cagayan de Oro, and even Manila.

Violanda said they wish to firm up talks by the last quarter of 2017.

Expansion plans

“Expansion (plans have) always been there, but we didn’t expect it to be this fast,” he said.

The businessman said they were planning to open franchise branches at a mall in southern Cebu City, Mandaue City, and
Lapu-Lapu City in the next year or two.
Within five years, he said they also want to open two to three franchise branches in Luzon, two to three in the Visayas, and two in Mindanao.

Violanda was part of the second batch of the Dapartment of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) Kapatid Mentor Me program, a coaching and mentoring platform to develop the capabilities of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSME).