UK-based fashion hairdressing chain Toni&Guy has opened its first salon in Hong Kong as a platform for its expansion into the Greater China region.

Director Susan Roberts said Hong Kong’s international lifestyle and discerning clientele made it the perfect place to set up shop.

“Toni&Guy has been wanting a presence in Hong Kong for many years, but it was waiting for the right person to be granted the franchise,” said Ms Roberts, who is co-director with Patrick Chu.

“A lot of people had been asking why there wasn’t a Toni&Guy in Hong Kong. They automatically expected that a city like Hong Kong would have all the things associated with international branding. All the major fashion names are here, the magazines are here, and it is extremely important for Hong Kong women to be up with the latest hair styles and colours.”

The company is building on its network of more than 200 salons and/or training academies in the UK, US, Europe, Australia, Japan, Singapore and Malaysia. Its move into Hong Kong follows the lead of Toni&Guy’s product arm, Tigi Asia, which moved its Asian headquarters to Hong Kong three years ago.

“The company was expanding its production base and it made sense to move the headquarters closer to its major markets of China, Taiwan and Korea,” Ms Roberts said.

Toni&Guy Hairdressing’s new 3,000 square foot salon in Central will be the company’s flagship salon, although Ms Roberts added: “We can see room for more than one Toni&Guy in Hong Kong, probably in Causeway Bay and Tsim Sha Tsiu.”

She said that using Hong Kong as a platform the group was also planning to expand in the Chinese mainland. “China is the big prize. We have just started distributing products in Shanghai and are doing shows in the mainland, and the plan is to open salons in China starting with Shanghai and then Beijing. We believe that now with our presence in Hong Kong, the right person (to be granted a mainland franchise) will come along sooner rather than later.”

Ms Roberts added that with its international image and ongoing commitment to training, Toni&Guy was able to attract quality staff keen to join the hairdressing company with the strongest name in the world.

“We are putting a lot of effort into training staff, making sure they’re the right people and bringing in specialists from England. Branding is the most important thing and increasingly so as people travel. Now, clients are able to find exactly the same hair services in Hong Kong as they would at Toni&Guy in London, Paris or Los Angeles.”