While Christmas shopping has been slow to start across the Illawarra this year one business noticeably doing a good trade is the new Charli & Kate salon in the redeveloped Gateway Centre in Wollongong Central.
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Charli & Kate is known as a salon but is attracting plenty of interest in the unique collection of leading brands it offers. In the process it is providing a Christmas solution for people trying to buy the perfect gift for someone who seemingly has everything.
Melissa Gorgievski thinks the retail success is because the new business is in the unique position of having so many leading brands in one location. She said it was very rare for premium brands such as Kerastase, Oribe, kevin.muprhy, Balmain and C9 (Cloud9) to all be together in one location because they are generally exclusive to and the main brand in a salon.
“They have never come together in one location,” she said.
“It has never been done anywhere else in the world. It shows a lot of confidence in our brand. This was always our concept to have premium brands in one location. They are exclusive and don’t normally come together in one location.”
The professionalism and philosophy of Charli & Kate when it opened is what drew them all together.
“Everyone who comes in here gets a five minute consultation which is really different,” Mrs Gorgievski said.
Balmain is the brand worn by models in the recent Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show televised on the Nine Network in November and Charli & Kate is among only around 12 salons in Australia to carry it.
The hairdressing side of the business is also exploding. Charli & Kate recently put on three more staff and is looking for two more stylists.
The spa area with fully automated massage chairs where many of the premium brands are also used is also attracting interest from Christmas shoppers buying vouchers people can spend on an experience.
Read more:
- How a Wollongong hair stylist became one of only 10 in Australia chosen for elite level international training
- Wollongong, Shellharbour jobs: Who's hiring for the Christmas retail season
- A sneak peek at how the new look David Jones will have a new hair salon as its neighbour when it opens in Spring
- Charli & Kate: First look inside new Wollongong Central hair salon
- The new look Gateway Centre in Wollongong Central and David Jones Food Hall get the thumbs up from shoppers who queue from 2am
Greg Ellis
Almost four decades in electronic, print and digital media. A writer, presenter, emcee, photographer and videographer with degrees in business management, marketing and human resources and tertiary qualifications in photography.
Almost four decades in electronic, print and digital media. A writer, presenter, emcee, photographer and videographer with degrees in business management, marketing and human resources and tertiary qualifications in photography.
