A Den for Men
Since 1896, Pall Mall Barbers has been at the forefront of men’s haircuts and male grooming and has set the agenda for style-conscious gentlemen for over 127 years in London. Here, RLI sits down with company CEO Richard Marshall to discuss the origins of the brand, how it has evolved since he took over and what the future holds.
Pall Mall Barbers is a multiple-award-winning barber shop business that is dedicated to empowering men to look and feel fantastic, to give them the confidence and self-esteem to take on any situation in their stride, whether it be an important work meeting or a catch up with some friends, Pall Mall Barbers aims to help men make that first impression count.
Originally founded in the 19th Century as the Pall Mall Toilet Saloon at No. 27 Whitcomb Street, just off London’s iconic Trafalgar Square and Pall Mall, the brand’s relentless dedication to deepening its knowledge of styling techniques and traditions across the globe has paved the way to a world-class suite of products and services that combine cutting-edge London styling with the very best male grooming techniques.
Like any story though, the brand has had its ups and downs and back in 2005 it was a shadow of its former self, it had become very dated and its headquarters had become weary and dilapidated. It was then that the business was bought by current CEO Richard Marshall. Under his guidance the brand has once again flourished and is now an international enterprise, becoming one of the most awarded independent barbershops in Europe.
“Today we operate multiple stores across London in iconic locations such as Liverpool Street, Paddington, Fitzrovia, Kings Cross, Bishopsgate, Oxford Circus, Trafalgar Square and Westminster,” Marshall explains. “Outside of London we currently have a flagship site in New York City at the Rockefeller Center, which was a very personal project for me that came to fruition after many years of hard work.”
In recent months, a partnership with leading Italian underwear label Intimissimi has seen the launch of a Pall Mall Barbers location inside Intimissimi’s Oxford Circus store, where the two brands have come together to offer clients a calm, welcoming environment away from the crowded streets of central London. The result is a unique space that is comfortable and enjoyable with a multitude of options for customers.
Pall Mall and Intimissimi Uomo are supporting each other in delivering a more tailored experience for their customers. This is especially important to a brand such as Intimissimi (sister brand of Intimissimi Uomo), who has made a real effort to expand its product offering in the UK by introducing Intimissimi Uomo into the market. For Intimissimi, this collaboration is another means through which they can make their wider customer base feel special.
“In the future the goal is to open more shop-in-shops in Intimissimi spaces, but first and foremost we want to keep this first location working and learn from it before moving onto additional spaces in additional locations,” Marshall highlights.
Away from this partnership, Pall Mall Barbers is currently in talks with multiple parties and has a full pipeline of projects across its different arms, from new stores, to product distribution and barber training in all corners of the world.
Discussing how the company develops new initiatives to maintain its niche market position, Marshall comments that the business itself is very progressive and they are always looking at how to evolve and innovate. In the barbering industry, things change every few years so the business must always be able to recreate itself and step into the next new trend whilst always remembering its roots and core values.
Another area where new trends are always arising is social media and the CEO feels that content is still what is most important and the ability to communicate with clients. He continues by saying that people go to different platforms for either entertainment or for business purposes, so they ensure they tailor their content for the specific platform, whether that be LinkedIn, TikTok or Instagram for example.
As we move onto to talking about the key drivers behind the success of Pall Mall Barbers in recent years, Richard explains that he feels perseverance, tenacity and really understanding what he personally wanted our of life have been pivotal in the growth and achievements of the business.
“I believe the next decade is going to be a total transformation of Pall Mall Barbers into a very different space and that is what we are currently working on, watch this space!”
