Yahoo Finance Nail salon chain offers benefits including 401(k)
The beauty business can be downright ugly. Specifically, the working conditions at nail salons as detailed by the New York Times. Nail salons in New York are now facing getting shut down after Governor Cuomo ordered new emergency measures to protect manicurists from potentially dangerous chemicals and being severely underpaid.
So far, two New York City manicurists have stepped forward and filed a proposed class action lawsuit against the nail salon chain, where they worked. They're accusing the owners of allegedly paying their employees $60 a day or less, which violates minimum wage and overtime laws.
Tony Tjan is the chairman of MiniLuxe, a nail salon chain - primarily based in Boston - that's taking an entirely different approach to the business. The company says it’s disrupting. what Tjan believes to be a $14 billion industry by offering its nearly 200 part-time and fulltime employees health insurance, paid time off and even company 401(k) plans.
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Tjan believes “we are moving into an era of ‘Conscious Consumerism’ where it is about doing the right thing and in doing so understanding that a fair price needs to be paid." Tjan refers to the movement that’s happened in the food business including Whole Foods (WFM) and Chipotle (CMG) and thinks other industries including his will follow suit.
The beauty business is growing. Rising consumer discretionary spending is expected to expand the hair and nail salons industry according to IBIS World. MiniLuxe charges $20 for a full manicure and a pedicure is $39, which are still less expensive than prices at a day spas. Tjan said “this is less about raising prices than being honest about what is required to deliver a quality product using legal and safe labor practices.”
Tjan warns it’s not just the workers’ health at risk with potentially harmful chemicals but “we have issues on both the labor and client side with not just poor labor practices but risks of infection and other health hazards due to lack of hygiene or toxic products.”
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