18 October 2022
This week's update covers the following:
- Hair & Beauty takes seasonal battering
- Energy consumption survey from BEIS
- New Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt reverses 'mini-budget'
- NHBF wins gold at the Association Excellence Awards 2022
- Have your say on education and skills via "The BIG Conversation"
Hair & Beauty takes seasonal battering
In the latest State of the Industry survey report by the NHBF, the hair & beauty sector is shown once again to be at the frontline of the impact of the current economic instability, with a drop in the proportion of businesses saying that they are confident of their survival at 49%, down from 64% in July,
While the proportion of businesses making a loss has not increased, fewer businesses are making a profit with 35%, down from 44% in July, with a corresponding increase in those who are just breaking even at 46%, up from 36% in July.
The general trend towards increasing prices continues. 51% of businesses raised their prices over the last three months (although this was down from 62% in July). A further 65% (up from 51% in July) will do so over the next three months.
The biggest rise in cost for businesses, unsurprisingly, is in energy. 77% are paying more for energy than they were six months ago. For half of the businesses, energy costs have increased by 40% or more.
Richard Lambert, chief executive of the NHBF, says, "Many hair & beauty businesses are teetering on the edge of survival. A range of indicators, including business activity, rising prices, rising debt, reliance on government support, uncertainty around survival and a dip in growth aspirations all signal a more negative outlook than before the summer".
You can read the full story here.
Watch State of Industry Survey video.
New Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt reverses 'mini-budget'
The Government has scrapped "almost all" of the tax measures announced in its mini-budget by then Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng, the new Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced on October 17.
The basic rate of income tax will remain at 20p indefinitely instead of being reduced to 19p.
Plans to stop corporation tax from rising next April have already been scrapped in a big U-turn. The corporation tax rate, which is the tax companies pay on their profits, will go up from 19% to 25% in April 2023.
The tax cut from the mini-budget that is surviving is National Insurance (NI). Taxpayers will still pay less NI from November 6, with a 1.25 percentage point cut still due to take place.
Responding to the Chancellor's statement, NHBF Chief Executive Richard Lambert said:
"What we need more than anything is for the Government to re-establish economic stability and put in place realistic policies that will enable businesses to plan for the future and maintain consumers' confidence in the high street."
Energy consumption survey from BEIS
On the back of the new Chancellor's statement yesterday, the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) is seeking further details about your energy consumption. As announced by the Government, support for businesses has begun with the energy relief scheme, which will run for six months until March 2023.
BEIS is looking for further details to see if our sector should benefit from additional support after the initial six-month period. In addition to information you provided to us through the State of the Industry survey, this is a really important opportunity to show directly to Government how vulnerable the sector is to rising energy and business prices.
The NHBF urges Members to take part in the survey and have your say on the key issues affecting our industry.
The survey will close at 23.55hrs on Monday, October 24.
NHBF wins gold at the Association Excellence Awards 2022
The NHBF was delighted to take home gold in this year's AEA Awards 2022. At the Awards ceremony which took place once again at the Kia Oval cricket ground in London, the NHBF took the prize for the Best New Event category for their Hair & Beauty industry Top 100 Influencers Index launch last year.
Announcing the win, the judges for the awards said: “This was a brilliant piece of creative engagement with an event at the core of a wider strategy of engagement. This event paid real attention to its target audience in terms of the social media surrounding the whole process, making it accessible and creating excitement.”
Have your say on education and skills via "The BIG Conversation"
As part of its continuing commitment to support the hair and beauty sector through the skills and recruitment crisis, the NHBF is urging all salon employers to take part in the Institute for Apprenticeship and Technical Education’s (the Institute) "BIG CONVERSATION" campaign.
The Institute is asking employers, education providers, apprentices and more to join "The Big Conversation" to have your say on the apprenticeship and technical skills system.
They would like to hear from everyone using apprenticeships or technical qualifications or providing work placements to contribute feedback – what works, what doesn't and what can be improved. Your views will be analysed and used to inform a major Institute report next year.
Click for further information.