Andrea Zulueta-Lorenzan, general manager of Piandrè Salon Cebu branch. The salon, located in Oakridge Business Park along A.S. Fortuna street, Mandaue City, opened last January 15. (CDN PHOTO/VANESSA CLAIRE LUCERO)
FAMILY-owned salon chain Piandrè recently opened a store in Cebu, the first outside Manila and the 11th in its network.
Located in Oakridge Business Park along A.S. Fortuna St. in Mandaue City, the 200-square-meter branch is the first of several stores planned in the Visayas and Mindanao, said general manager Andrea Zulueta-Lorenzana.
“Cebu will benchmark our entry into the Visayas and Mindanao,” she said.
The Cebu outlet receives an average of 40 clients a day. Lorenzana said this is a far cry from the 200 people serviced daily at the salon’s bigger and more established branch in Greenbelt, Manila, but it is a “surprisingly good start.”
“We were told that Cebuanos are very price-conscious but I believe they are also looking for quality and value for money when it comes to salons,” she said.
She said they decided to expand outside Manila after noting an increase in sales of their salon-grade hair products.
“In the last two years, movement in the Visayas and Mindanao was a lot stronger, and in the VisMin, we considered Cebu to be a priority,” she added.
Aside from being the biggest single-ownership salon chain, Piandrè is also the only salon with a multi-purpose cooperative.
All 400 employees of the company are members of the cooperative. In the last three years, members have received as much as P3 million in dividends.