The right choice

Stephanie Chung is one of the breed of young graduates who opted to go into business rather than seek employment. And after seven years as head of Elite Corp., she has proven that she has made the right choice.

Elite is the corporate vehicle of Kaffee Salon, which was put up in Salcedo Village in 1996. The beauty salon got its name from the German word for coffee.

"It made sense to serve our clients freshly brewed coffee from Germany, on the house, because most of the products used in the salon also came from Germany," said Chung, who also frequently takes refresher courses on salon services in Europe.

In 2001, Elite moved its salon operation to Hotel Intercontinental Manila.

"The move was timely as clients became more conscious about their security," she said.

Added value

Because of its location, a significant number of Kaffee’s clients are foreigners who do a lot of traveling. To cater to this market niche, the salon offers pre-flight and post-flight packages for those waiting for or have just arrived from a flight. The pre-flight package, for example, costs P1,000 and covers hair treatment with massage, shampoo, blow-dry and styling as well as a foot spa.

Twenty percent rebates for every P1,000 worth of services are offered to loyal customers..

In an effort to widen its client base, Kaffee is eyeing the lucrative bridal business with bridal packages from June until the end of the year. A bridal package worth P2,700 covers a trial make-up session, hair treatment, foot spa, manicure and pedicure and eyelash perming. A bridal package for three, including the bride, is priced at P5,600.

Also new are facial services such as the use of an ionic facial machine, paraffin wax treatment, choice of a facial masque like collagen or seaweed. Facial oxygen therapy costs P150 per session. The facial services are supervised by a dermatologist.

Competitive

"Despite our location and our client base, our prices are competitive," said Chung.

In large part, this can be traced to the use of carefully selected products such as placentyne to prevent hair loss, restructuring for intensive maintenance, ginseng for maintenance after hair loss, and bone marrow for colored and fine hair maintenance. Regular hair products include the Schwarzkopf salon line for Caucasians and products from Japan for Asians.

"Contrary to popular belief that imported shampoos and conditioners are better for Asian hair, the ph balance for imported shampoos are actually designed for the weather and water abroad. This is the reason why sometimes the hair becomes stiff and stringy. Local shampoos and conditioners are better for Filipino hair," said Chung.

Kaffee Salon continues to change to meet the needs of its market. One thing, however, has not changed in the last seven years. Real brewed coffee is still served, free of charge, to clients.