Chatters, Canada’s largest salon-based retailer, continues to expand its presence across the country with new concept stores.
“As we continue our expansion, we are devoted to listening to our stylists and guests, better anticipating their needs, enhancing our in-salon experience, and selecting the best beauty and hair care items available on the market,” said Greg Moreau, President & CEO of Chatters.
“Fostering an inclusive, accessible, and welcoming environment for our stylists and their guests, and providing an exceptional customer experience is Chatters’ top priority.”
There are 114 locations in Canada.
In November, with the opening of a new concept store at CF Chinook Centre in Calgary, that will mark the company’s fifth new concept – four of them remodels and one a new flagship location in Brampton, Ontario.
“It’s probably been a decade since we’ve done a full, new elevated concept,” said Moreau.
“We were excited to get started pre-pandemic and then we took a little bit of pause. But it did give us time. We’ve got about 1,200 hairstylists across Canada. We wanted to create a really dynamic environment while allowing our stylists to showcase their talent, their creativity.”
The elevated experience, for example in the Brampton store, includes privacy areas for customers.
“As we’ve been elevating our product offering, a lot of effort has gone into what we’re calling Style Consciously,” he said.
The brand said it’s about making mindful choices that positively impact a customer’s health, lifestyle and environment. Style Consciously is broken down into four pillars: clean, cruelty-free, vegan and sustainable. Each pillar has its own clearly defined guidelines developed to help customers choose cleaner, greener, kinder products and brands.
Chatters also recently opened in its first enclosed mall at the Orchard Park Shopping Centre in Kelowna.
“We’re hoping to do between 10 and 15 projects per year for the next three years,” said Moreau. “It would be a mix of new locations and upgrading existing locations.”
The new Brampton flagship is an example of the new concept for the brand as it features private salon rooms for clients wanting an individual experience. A testing bar exists where customers can try out products before making a purchase.
The company’s expansion kicked off in Sudbury, Ontario and Edmonton, Alberta in July and continued in Brampton, Ontario with the opening of their flagship location at Trinity Commons.
The elevated experience in the Brampton store was brought together through the expertise of award-winning salon store designer, Sandra Fiore of Fiore + Greco Design Inc.
“When we developed the layout and color palette for Chatters, a priority was creating an aesthetically pleasing environment that would be enjoyed by the wide range of clientele that Chatters caters to. Since they are such dynamic spaces, a cohesive interior concept was very important for the Chatters brand,” she said.
“We used accent lighting, wallpaper and benches to frame the various experience areas including the demo bar, retail, and professional service stations. A material board of cement, wood, white, black, and grey was combined and used evenly throughout the space for aesthetic continuity. Fiore also mentions, “the layout was optimized for functionality and flow within the space for both customers and staff to enjoy. It was also done with the knowledge that the space planning and design concept would be brought into many other locations in the future.”
Old Concept at Chatters Edmonton (Image: Chatters) 
Old Concept at Chatters West Edmonton Mall (Image: Chatters)
In addition to its new Sudbury, Edmonton, and Brampton locations, Chatters will be opening and refreshing several other locations across Canada in the coming months. This includes more locations across British Columbia, Alberta, the Greater Toronto Area, Guelph, and Kitchener in Q1 of 2023.
Chatters Hair Salon was established in 1991 in Red Deer, Alberta, as a small, stylist-founded haircare destination and quickly became one of the most reputable salons across Western Canada. Over the last 31 years, Chatters has expanded to other areas of the country, with a strong focus on Ontario. Leading the Chatters Eastern Canada expansion is the opening of the Toronto based headquarters this fall.
“This office encapsulates Chatters’ growth through the continued development of creative functions such as buying, planning, ecommerce, and marketing. Chatters’ vision is to constantly evolve with their customers and that means expanding salon locations, providing private rooms for those who require them and creating gender-free service menus that are inclusive to all,” said the company.
Oberfeld Snowcap is acting on behalf of Chatters for its expansion.
