REACHING THE SUMMIT

The Phorest Salon Owners Summit, held at the Dublin Royal Convention Centre in January, brought together the brightest minds in the salon and spa industry. With ‘Elevate’ as the theme, this year saw the event’s largest turnout to date, with over 650 attendees gathering to see a line-up of speakers, and parktake in hands-on workshops with Phorest teams.

After a céad míle fáilte from Irish dance show Celtic Dance Fusion, Phorest Salon Software CEO Ronan Perceval opened the first day by discussing the increasing expectations of both clients and staff, and asking guests to rise to the challenge to be better by the end of the year.

Consumer behaviour expert Ken Hughes’ ‘Taylormaking’ talk looked at how customer experience drives brand success, as he focused specifically on the tribal brand of Taylor Swift, and how it embodies the core values of customer and employee connection. Hughes emphasised how businesses can create emotional connections and loyalty by focusing on authenticity, intimacy and belonging.

Phorest FM host Alex Belisle-Springer took to the stage for a panel discussion with hair and beauty leaders Winnie Awa, Keya Neal, Tandai Moyo and Dija Ayodele. The group addressed issues around diversity and inclusion in the industry, and spoke about the need for brands to make inclusivity a core business strategy.

The afternoon began with a session from Ground Wellbeing founder Peigín Crowley, who shared her experience and tools for recognising and managing burnout. She stressed that maintaining a healthy work-life balance is key for sustainable growth.

Day one closed with insights from some of the Phorest team, including Patrick Monaghan, Nuala Maguire and Niamh Greaney. They provided actionable insights and trends to help customers understand how unused tools within the app can help their salons to thrive in 2025. Guests were then treated to some Bingo Loco – a Salon Owners Summit favourite.

‘We’re thrilled with the success of this year’s Salon Owners Summit – the energy in the room was palpable, and it’s clear that the community we’ve built over the years is stronger than ever’

Day two opened with a presentation from Ronan Harrington, a resilience expert who explained that resilience is rooted in self-compassion and purpose. His advice was to create emotional connections with clients to build trust and ensure lasting impressions.

Harrington was followed by Dr AnneMarie Imafidon MBE, who looked at the use of AI, along with its impact on the workplace. Dr Imafidon shed light on how underrepresentation in tech leads to biased and unsafe outcomes, however, she encouraged embracing AI for empowerment, wellbeing and inclusivity.

The final segment of the summit featured celebrity stylist and mental health advocate Daniel Mason-Jones, who led a session that provided tangible tips on how to solve client and employee problems in the salon.

According to Perceval, this year's event was the perfect start to 2025, bringing together a diverse group of salon owners and industry leaders who were given the opportunity to connect, learn and grow together.

“We’re thrilled with the success of this year’s Salon Owners Summit – the energy in the room was palpable, and it’s clear that the community we’ve built over the years is stronger than ever,” he said. “We’re grateful to our amazing partners, including Vish, Dermalogica and Mya, who helped make this event a truly special experience for all involved. Their support helped create a fantastic environment that encouraged collaboration and growth.

“The weekend ensured we are supporting our customers with the tools they require to elevate their business in 2025. We can’t wait to welcome more salon owners and professionals to Dublin for another incredible experience in