GMale hitting the Irish grooming spot Sunday, May 10, 2009 By Nicola Cooke After working for years in New York, London and Sydney, brothers Gavan and Joe Glynn decided to return to Ireland, bringing the idea for a male grooming business with them.
Spotting a niche for a salon dedicated to men, and with positive feedback from market research, the pair opened GMale in Ranelagh, Dublin.
Gavan Glynn got out of the mortgage broker business last year and put his redundancy money towards the business. His brother had worked as a product sales representative for haircare firm Wella in Sydney.
Treatments at GMale range from hot stone massages to express or deluxe pedicures and manicures. Waxing, tanning and eyebrow tinting are also available.
While hairdressing and hot towel shaves are the main staples of the new business, the one-hour Dermalogica facial and massages are proving popular, according to Gavan.
The brothers believe that Irish men have become ‘‘much more into’’ how they look in the last ten years. ‘‘There’s no doubt that men in their 20s and 30s especially are into their grooming and a well-maintained appearance, and that’s why we set up the business,” Gavan said.
‘‘When the sun’s out, we’re out the door [with customers], so we’ll see what the summer will bring.”
The Glynns employ three full-time and two part-time staff, including barbers and a therapist. GMale has two treatment rooms, four barber chairs and a stand-up sun bed.
In addition to the extensive grooming list, an Xbox is available to play at reception, while beer is offered in the afternoon and sports generally feature on GMale’s plasma screens.
While the recession has meant that business has been running about 30 per cent less than expected for the last six months, Gavan is optimistic that spend will increase during the summer. ‘‘We were so far ahead with plans for everything last year that we said we’d just go ahead and open,” he said.
‘‘January and February have been quiet months for most businesses. We had an idea for a franchise with a couple of more outlets, and when things pick up - as they hopefully will - we will look further into this.”
The business is open from Tuesday to Saturday and the brothers are using a combination of old and new methods to keep customers coming through the door, according to Gavan. ‘‘We have loyalty cards, run special mid-week offers through our text number network and have a Facebook page, which around 1,200 people have joined,” he said.
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