美容室｢倒産は加速どころか…｣ ヘアカラー剤･ラップ･手袋…ほぼ全てが石油由来 東海3県は昨年度“過去最多”の倒産軒数

Hair Salon: "Bankruptcies are accelerating..." Hair Dye, Gloves, Almost All Petroleum-Derived In response to the situation in the Middle East, hair salons in Nagoya are increasingly worried about soaring prices of petroleum products. According to a research company, bankruptcies among hair salons in the Tokai region (Aichi, Gifu, and Mie prefectures) have been increasing for three consecutive years. ASCH, a hair salon that has been operating in Showa Ward, Nagoya City for about 40 years, has three other branches in the city and employs approximately 130 people across all four locations. It is said to be one of the top hair salons in Nagoya in terms of employee numbers and sales. (ASCH Representative: Hiroyuki Obayashi) Q. Is this hair coloring? "We offer 315 types of hair color, but they are all related to petroleum. Naphtha, that is. 90% of our customers get their hair colored, from fashion colors to gray hair coverage." The raw materials for hair dyes include naphtha, which is derived from petroleum. If crude oil prices continue to rise in response to the situation in Iran, there are growing concerns that the cost of supplies will inevitably increase. Even consumable items like plastic wrap, cloths, and gloves… (Representative Ohbayashi) "We wrap our hair in plastic wrap when coloring it, but this is also a petroleum product. Without it, the color won't turn out well." The plastic wrap used to wrap the head when dyeing hair is also a petroleum product. Furthermore, cloths and gloves are also petroleum-derived. And… (Representative Ohbayashi) Q. Is shampoo also related to petroleum? "Many shampoos are plant-derived, so the contents are safe, but the outside is petroleum, right? Because it's a plastic container." Since the plastic containers that shampoo and other products come in are also petroleum products, he says that various items in the store may increase in price in the future. Some shampoos were already affected by rising prices even before the worsening situation in Iran, and have just increased in price by about 10% since April 1st. Furthermore… Even the water used to rinse shampoo is affected… (Representative Ohbayashi) Q. Is the water used for shampooing also affected? "Kerosene has increased in price by 20 yen (per liter)…it's unbearable." Q. Do you use a lot of kerosene? "It runs out in no time." This shop uses kerosene as fuel to run its boiler and heat water. They need about 200 liters of kerosene per week, and the 20 yen per liter price increase since April is "painful," they say. Under these circumstances, the shop raised the prices of all its services, including cuts and coloring, by 110 yen each, starting March 31st. It was a difficult decision, apparently… (Representative Ohbayashi) Q. Did the situation in Iran affect this price increase? "It wasn't. We decided to raise prices before the war started." Learning from the COVID-19 pandemic, manufacturers… The beauty industry is practically dependent on petroleum for almost everything necessary to run a business. A representative from a company that supplies shampoos and other products from manufacturers to beauty salons said this about the future: (Akira Osawa, Gamou Nagoya Branch) "Currently, there are no problems. Based on the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, manufacturers are stockpiling a year's supply of raw materials. However, if this situation drags on, there will likely be impacts such as increased import costs and container shortages." Last year saw a record number of beauty salon bankruptcies in the Tokai region According to a research company, a record 38 beauty salons went bankrupt in the Tokai region last year. This number has increased for three consecutive years, partly due to labor shortages. (Representative Obayashi) "The repercussions of the situation in Iran are very frightening." Q. Is there a possibility of bankruptcies accelerating? "I think so. It's not just accelerating, I wonder what will happen. My own salon is also on edge." For more details, see NEWS DIG! ↓ https://newsdig.tbs.co.jp/articles/-/...