IT was a hot summer in Paris in 1997. Ma. Pacita ?Baby? Cruz and Ma. Luisa ?Ising? Madrigal-Vasquez were scouring the avenues in search of franchise operation.

At that time, only expat hairdressers and a few Filipinos had formal training in haircutting and color. These two businesswomen wanted to raise the bar in the local salon industry.

Then they chanced upon a Franck Provost salon filled with customers who were being attended to by a uniformed, cravat-wearing staff.
Although the service was solicitous, the prices were reasonable.

Marc Aublet, president of Franck Provost Group, asked if the two women were in the salon business. They were candid about their lack of experience. What intrigued him, he?d say later, was how they kept their composure, fanning themselves with anahaw fans.

Finally, they met Provost, the founder and chairman. Asked what he knew about the Philippines, he answered, ?Imelda Marcos.?

Provost appeared to have been touched by the candor of the two women. So the Provost group was convinced to invest outside of Europe.

Pampered

On Provost?s first visit to Manila, he was pampered with a massage and a surprise dinner with the former first lady.

To inspect the salon site, the women flew him by helicopter from his Makati hotel to the Madrigal property in Alabang, Muntinlupa. Although Alabang looked promising, Provost heeded his instinct and advised the two to open the first franchise in Makati instead. He chose Jupiter Street in Bel-Air, Makati, because of accessibility.

In the past 10 years, Innovations and Concepts Inc. has opened three premium Franck Provost Salons and three branches of the price-friendly Fabio Salsa (named after Provost?s son). Baby?s son, Alfred José Cruz, chief operations officer, attributes the longevity to Provost?s precept: ?We treat clients like family and the stylists like business partners,? says the younger Cruz.

He notes that cut and color drive the business of their salons, given Provost?s exacting techniques.

Despite the jitters about the economy, Baby Cruz, now chairman of Innovations & Concepts Inc., remains bullish. They just opened Franck Provost Studio in Western Taguig City.

Provost himself flew in to mark the 10th year of the salons and to grace the opening of the West Taguig City salon.

He attributed his success to good relations. In haircutting technique, it?s not just wielding the right scissors and razor but heeding what the client wants.

Provost opened his first salon in 1975 at the age of 28. By 1995, he owned 20 salons in France.

Today there are 1,600 salons in France with nine various brands and over 2,500 salons in 31 countries.

Provost insists on establishing trust between client and stylist.

Transparent

Unlike the Franck Provost salon which specializes in pampering rituals and where hair coloring can take as long as four hours, the Franck Provost Studio gets the job done in two and a half hours, at more reasonable price.

French consultant Laurent Hebert points out that the salon has state-of-the-art technology to get the job done much faster. Another important element of the salon is the generous natural lighting from the glass walls to guide the technician to the exact color and highlights. Clients don?t have to step out to check their color.

Franck Provost Studio introduces the Color Bar where the client can state color preferences. The hair color will be prepared right in front of the customer after the diagnostic test.

In other salons, the colorist doesn?t show the color preparation. The system is open to temptation where the colorist can cheat the client by undercutting the formula yet charging a lot.
?We are transparent here,? says Cruz.

More important is the complete service. Before hair coloring, the client has a hair diagnostic. ?We must be careful with the base. Color isn?t just adding what you already have on,? says Hebert.

Pay it forward

To Innovations and Concepts, the salon business is more than skin deep. It is complemented by a cosmetology school and values formation program in the Jupiter branch, under the Isdanco Foundation, led by managing director Patricia ?Tish? Cruz-Bautista.

?We?ve discovered that no matter how talented stylists are, they don?t last. It?s easy to get caught up in the glamour,? says Bautista.

The program trains them in developing a positive, professional and mature attitude toward work.

?The business has been good to us. It?s time for us to pay back and pay forward,? says Bautista.

Franck Provost Studio has opened at Net Quad Building, between 30th and 31st Streets, Crescent Park, West Taguig City. Call 4016870 and 8569569. Open Tuesday to Sunday.