Stories: Daniel and the Shelf That Finally Sells

Daniel runs a salon in Vaduz, a short walk from the Städtle: three chairs, a full-time colleague and a mixed clientele of women and men, many of whom drop in before or after work. Cuts and colour go well. The shelf by the entrance does not.

One Thursday evening, while closing the till, he took a good look at it: about thirty different bottles, some bought in boxes of six, with a film of dust on the caps. That afternoon a regular client had asked him, after his cut, which shampoo to use at home. Daniel had explained it carefully. "Thanks, I'll pick it up at the supermarket," the client had replied.

The problem was not advice, it was choice

Daniel gave advice every day. What he was missing were the answers to four questions:

Which products are worth keeping on the shelf?
At what price should he sell them, without looking expensive?
How much does he really keep, once VAT is deducted?
How can he reorder without filling the stockroom?

That evening he searched Google, in German: "Haarprodukte im Salon verkaufen Marge". Among the results he found a cliCHair guide to its tools for salons. He activated his PRO account, free and with no obligation to buy, and once it was verified he found the tools reserved for salons right on the homepage.

A few products, chosen with the numbers

In Earn on retail Daniel went through the products he recommends most often after a service: brand, product, how many he expects to sell a month. For each one he saw the net margin per unit, calculated on the retail price excluding VAT.

An example with indicative figures: a recommended price of 29.80 CHF incl. VAT, that is 27.57 CHF excl. VAT; with an example purchase price of 19.40 CHF, the net margin is 8.17 CHF per unit. Selling 6 a month makes 49.02 CHF a month, 588.24 CHF a year, from a single product.

In the end he kept six products, the ones he really recommends every week: one for the scalp, one for coloured hair, one for blondes, a styling product for his male clients and two treatments. He sold off the rest without reordering it.

The right price, with no awkward moments

The recommended price in the module is cliCHair's official retail price list, the same one clients see online. Daniel decided to use it as it is. If a client checks on their phone, they find the same figure: no awkward comparisons at the counter.

Reordering without boxes

At the end of every month he opens Quick Order and taps My products: he sees only his six products, with the quantity and date of his last order next to each one. He chooses how many he needs, even outside the pack sizes, and with one click the cart is ready. The shelf stays full, the stockroom does not.

The routine card

The idea that changed the most is the simplest. After every service Daniel writes two products for home on a card, and when to come back for the next appointment. Some clients pick them up straight away at the till; others come back a few weeks later, just for the product. It is a chance to ask how their hair is doing and to book the next appointment.

What changed

The shelf is smaller and the bottles no longer gather dust. His colleague uses the same cards. And the shampoo client, the next time, asked: "Can you put one aside for me?"

"I used to sell bottles," says Daniel. "Now, at home, my clients carry on the work we did in the chair."

Daniel is a fictional character, inspired by common situations in Swiss salons. The figures are calculation examples, not a promise of earnings: you set your selling prices, and real margins depend on your salon's costs.