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Rhys shows his style A
fter 24 years running salons in Gwent, the Giles family know a thing or two about hairdressing. Mum Lorna, 52, is a former Welsh
hairdressing champion, while son Rhys, 24, can count making his debut at London Fashion Week and styling the hair of Ryder Cup wives and girlfriends among his many achievements in the past year. We spoke to dad and managing director
Steven Giles, who is the man behind the Rhys Giles brand and its salons in Cwmbran and at the five-star Celtic Manor Resort.
MCL: 2010 was a busy year for you, what have you got coming up this year? Steven Giles: There’s always something going on, Rhys is very ambitious. He’s already got through to the live finals of the L’Oreal Colour Trophy. We expect to pick up a few more awards as the year progresses. There’s always something on the horizon with numerous events at the Celtic Manor. We are looking forward to welcoming a number of celebrities into the salon for the Elemis Polo in July. We have recently been exceptionally busy there for the Wales Open Golf.
MCL: What can people expect when they visit your salons? SG: We offer affordable luxury. There’s something there for everyone and that’s secured our success – everyone can experience Rhys Giles hairdressing. Then there’s the passion to do the job and a really warm welcome. We really believe in what we are doing. As soon as you walk in you buy into that buzz and that’s why so many people come back. They enjoy that personal attention.
MCL: Tell us about the Ryder Cup SG: The Ryder Cup was surreal. The hotel was in security lockdown so we totally relied on the player’s wives and other guests. It was an amazing experience as Rhys cut the hair of the hero of the tournament Graeme McDowell prior to the event. We developed a great relationship with both the European team and the American team’s wives. It was great for us.
MCL: Tell us some of the famous names who have visited the salon? SG: Chris Evans – he’s a great bloke. A lot of the golfers – Colin Montgomerie has been in a couple of times. It’s difficult to talk about some of the celebrities because of confidentiality. Rhys and the team did all the wives and girlfriends for both Ryder Cup teams for the Welcome to Wales concert. It was a great show and we could watch it and say, ‘that’s our work’.
MCL: What’s it like working with your wife and son? SG: It’s a great business team. It’s fantastic for us all to work together, we have got an amazing relationship. We all have our different roles and that’s why it works.
MCL: What benefits can customers enjoy from regular visits to your salons? SG: We are working towards launching a loyalty card scheme where customers can get points for not only what
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they spend but also introducing friends and making regular appointments. We also run an e-mail marketing system, which keeps you in touch with regular promotions. Things like birthdays are important where our regular clients get a voucher sent to them just to say Happy Birthday It’s our way of giving something back to our customers.
MCL: What are your plans for the future? SG: We are looking to expand into Cardiff. It’s one of our longer term goals along with continuously developing the team we have at present. We are looking to work closely with young Welsh fashion designers to enable them to get their work recognised.
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