Held at the fashionable NOBU Hotel in central London, the event kicked off with an emotional speech from the directors. “We’ve come a long way in 40 years. The world is a very different place today than it was back then, but there’s one thing that has remained the same – our vision,” explained Paul Simbler. “This has always been to create successful people through excellence and integrity, whilst being able to offer everyone the opportunity to reach their potential.”
Clive added: “When we first launched Hair on Broadway in 1983, David Bowie was Number One with Let’s Dance, Margaret Thatcher was the first female Prime Minister and a can of Coke was 14p!”
The partners recognised a host of employees who had been with the company for more than 20 years, delighting at the number that had remained loyal, dedicated team members for so long. “The amount of people who have been on our journey with us is incredible – and most of them are still in our lives today!” said Akin. “We’re not finished, but we have a whole generation of Akin, Clive and Pauls ahead of us.”
General manager, Natasha Grossman, spoke for everyone when she said: “HOB was born in 1983, and I arrived into the world in 1985. For most of my life I saw my dad, Clive, go out to work seven days a week, dedicating everything to HOB – and Akin and Paul were no different. Growing up, I sometimes found it hard to understand why my Dad worked day and night, living, breathing and eating HOB, but eventually, after joining the company nearly 20 years ago, I realised two things: you don’t get anywhere in life without sacrifice and determination, and you don’t build a legacy within the hairdressing industry by luck or by taking the easy path.”
The award-winning Creative Team, led by Akin, presented stunning looks and discussed the importance of giving clients beautiful hair that creates a ‘wow’ factor. Jake Unger, Nestor Sanchez and Dale Herne presented soft feminine curls and precision bobs that were commercial and timeless, but still trend-led. “Never leave your client looking invisible; always make it wow!” stated Akin.
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