PRESS RELEASE
08.26.2004
Sandra DeConda of Foils Salon is in the Running to Receive the Prestigious Entrepreneur of the Year Global Salon Business Award

MELBOURNE, FL, August 26, 2004 -- Mention the phrase "entrepreneurial business leader" and people often think of Microsoft's Bill Gates, former Chrysler Chairman Lee Iococca, Virgin Airlines' Richard Branson or Apple Computers Steve Jobs. Soon there could be several more that come to mind.

This past August, Sandra DeConda of Foils Salon in Melbourne Florida received notification that she had been nominated for a Global Salon Business Award along with other leading salon entrepreneurs from around the globe, including Austria, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Holland, Iceland, Italy, Mexico, Norway, New Zealand, Spain, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States.

According to a recently released statistic, the $135 billion professional salon industry employs more than six million professionals worldwide and services in excess of 1.5 billion consumers each year with repeat visitation. Says Secretary of Commerce Donald Evans, "Small businesses such as hair salons are a vital part of our economy, employing more than half of the nation's private workforce and contributing substantially to net job creation. The salon industry, in particluar, contributes to the economy by providing employment, especially for people who are just joining the workforce, and by expanding the range of opportunity for people to manage and own their own businesses."

Paula Kent Meehan, who created the awards program and founded hair care giant Redken Laboratories, concurs, adding, "It's indeed an honor to recognize and reward salons around the globe that play such a vital role in society as well as with the economy."

The Global Salon Business Award will be presented to salon owners - like Sandra DeConda, owner of Foils Salon - who demonstrate exceptional performance in five categories of business criteria, namely entrepreneurial spirit, financial productivity, marketing and promotion, and team and client philosophy.

The Global Salon Business Forum and Awards ceremony will take place in London May 30-June 1, 2004. The event will be hosted by television personality Leeza Gibbons and will include three days of advanced business education, featuring several keynote speakers, including business guru and best-selling author Tom Peters and Regis Corporation CEO Paul Finkelstein. For additional information, visit www.worldbeautyawards.com.

About the Global Salon Business Awards
Entrepreneurial spirit. Financial productivity. Business innovation. Team philosophy. Client philosophy. These were among the key criteria that a prestigious panel of judges deliberated on for two straight days in early March 2004 to select the winners of the inaugural Global Salon Business Awards. The event was held at the UCLA Anderson School of Management, Price Center for Entrepreneurial Studies.

"The awards pay tribute to entrepreneurial salon and spa owners around the globe whose business acumen and notable business accomplishments have had a lasting and positive impact on their local communities as well as their bottom lines," explains Kristin Firrell, the program's executive director. Celebrity stylist Frederic Fekkai, owner of two ultra-chic salons in New York City and Beverly Hills and the program's global ambassador, concurs. "This is the one and only program that honors, recognizes, and rewards hairdressing salon entrepreneurs that are leading the way, taking their salon businesses to entirely new levels of business success."

The elite group of judges, whose ranks included prominent business leaders and academicians as well as members of the "who's who" of the hairdressing salon world and professional trade press, each brought a unique perspective to the judging process," says Awards program executive director Kristin Firrell. "The backgrounds and experience of the judging panel was instrumental in helping us to unearth the best-of-the best with respect to identifying the most entrepreneurial hairdressing salons of the world."

Participating on the panel were Dr. Steven Berglas, Pam Burris, Kelley Donahue, Frederic Fekkai, Elaine Hagan, Luis Llongueras, Bob Lupinacci, Toni Mascolo, Peter Mahoney, Charlie Miller, Michele Musgrove, Dr. Alfred Osborne, Jr., Klaus Peter Ochs, Jeanne Parrent, Roberto Pissimiglia, Lucie Saint Clair, Mary Wilson, and Melissa Yamaguchi. Judges scrutinized hundreds of salon owners' entries from around the world, scoring salons on such aspects as entrepreneurial culture, point-of-difference, level of risk taken, team education and training, team reward and recognition, client service initiatives, loyalty and retention programs, community service initiatives, marketing and promotional materials, and profitability.

The select group of winners representing 21 countries were presented with their awards in one of seven categories at the Global Salon Business Forum & Awards, an education and networking seminar held May 29 to June 1 in London. In addition to delivering unsurpassed information on business management, leadership, and technology, the three-day event featured a number of renowned keynote speakers, including business guru and best-selling author Tom Peters, Royal Family and celebrity photographer Lord Patrick Lichfield, Intercoiffure Mondial president and salon owner Klaus Peter Ochs, Take Control President and educator Alan Austin Smith, and Salon Consultants International president Peter Mahoney.

Click here for more information about the Global Salon Business Awards.