Chatters hair salon opens downtown
A well-known Canadian chain of hair salons is headquartering its United States operations in Spokane.
Chatters Salon recently opened its third U.S. store at River Park Square and established a head office nearby, on the second floor of the Old City Hall building.
“We needed a flagship for the U.S. Everybody in Canada already knows what Chatters is,” said Monique Wilhelms, who is married to Lloyd Wilhelms, president of Chatters USA Ltd.
The two are among a handful of investors sharing ownership in the American division of the privately held company, which has about 80 stores in Canada.
Salons are typically positioned in shopping centers that are hubs for women’s fashions and River Park Square fit the bill, Lloyd Wilhelms said.
“We really think of ourselves as a fashion retailer of beauty products and services,” he said.
Chatters salons provide services including haircuts, styling, perms, hair coloring and facial waxing. Children’s cuts start at $10, men’s cost $23 and women’s go for $29.
Services are coupled with a large assortment of professional hair-care merchandise, including curling irons, portable hairdryers and styling products from Paul Mitchell, Redken and Matrix.
Wilhelms, a former Microsoft executive, said retail products typically make up 50 percent to 70 percent of the sales for salons.
So far the U.S. portion of the business is relatively small, with two salons in Seattle, along with the new business in Spokane. Headquarters staff will consist mostly of accounting professionals, he said, but jobs may spill over into contracts for other services.
The rapidly-growing company plans to open six to 10 new stores next year in the Northwest, said Wilhelms. Chatters USA Ltd. is also working with a chain of shopping malls to expand stores into California and other states.
Part of the draw of moving to Spokane was the ability to hire from a pool of talented individuals without paying big-city wages, Wilhelms said. Plus, the trip to Seattle is a quick flight away.
“I always thought Spokane offered a lot for a head office,” he said.