A revolutionary children’s hair salon, Maddy Magoo – which focuses on innovative haircare, cuts and styling – was specifically designed for children from all ethnic backgrounds. After successfully creating a strong brand presence in Gauteng, a gap in the market has been identified to launch the first Maddy Magoo store in Pretoria and in other parts of the country, with the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal being next on the list, as franchise opportunities.
Lauren de Swardt, the successful mumpreneur who created Kids Emporium, opened the pilot hair salon in Honeydew five years ago and has since established four other hair salons in Johannesburg. Kids Emporium has 30 South African stores and has recently opened in the UK.
“I am a mother of two and I realised the need for a child-friendly salon after my then four-year-old son refused to go to the hairdresser. It dawned on me that not all hair salons cater for children’s needs and they can seem very frightening to a young child. I was also rather amazed that there were no hair salons that catered for people from all ethnic backgrounds under one roof – thus Maddy Magoo was formed,” explains de Swardt.
“What makes it distinct is that each salon is fun enough for little ones, but cool enough for tweens. It also caters for all hair types and uses a variety of child friendly, innovative products from eco.kid, Milk, Shampooheads, milk_shake and Mizani. Furthermore, each hairdresser is not only trained to work with children, but to cut and style all hair types, from curly locks and straight layers to afros and braids.”
The salon provides a fun-filled experience for toddlers undergoing their first haircut and caters for children’s birthday parties.
“The various activities children can experience at the salons include a before and after photograph, a personalised Certificate of Bravery for their first haircut and a lock of hair as a keepsake. In addition to this, it offers glamour parties, which caters for six to 20 girls, from the age of five and up. The birthday girl receives a CD of photos to remember the special occasion as well as a voucher as a birthday gift,” concludes de Swardt.
For more information, go to www.kidsemporium.co.za or az.oc.oogamyddam@nerual for franchise opportunities.
