From naivety to nailing it: POSH Nail Spa aims to take the nail industry to new heights

Sereen Eng takes on a challenge like how she would prepare to wash a customer’s feet in her nail salon – she rolls up her sleeves and rises to the occasion. 

The founder of POSH Nail Spa, which has expanded from a two-seater to three outlets across Klang Valley, had weathered several storms since the brand was established in 2010 – the latest being the extended closure of the nail salon sector during the pandemic lockdowns in Malaysia.

In June 2021, the Malaysian government classified manicure and pedicure as high-risk services, together with spas and pubs. That means the sector would remain closed until Phase 4 of the National Recovery Plan (NRP), while all other economic sectors, including beauty and hair salons, could reopen earlier. This was a major blow to over 2,000 nail salons in the country already wobbling from the economic impact of not being allowed to operate for most of 2020 and 2021. 

Marshalling nail salons across the country, Eng led the Malaysia Association of Nail Industry (MANI) and embarked on a campaign to clarify why nail salons are essential and safe. Through news outlets and dialogues with lawmakers, Eng communicated how nail salon services are not merely peddling aesthetics but also dealing with health issues, such as ingrown toenails, fungal nail infections, corn, and calluses that affect mobility. This also marked one of the first stiff competitors in the Malaysian nail industry uniting for a common cause. MANI’s efforts bore fruit. In September 2021, nail care services were re-listed under sectors that can be reopened in Phase 2 of the NRP. 

But there is no rest for Eng. Later this year, she will open up a new body spa that offers floatation therapy, which involves floating in a tank filled with body-temperature salt water. Meanwhile, she is also running the POSH Academy to train new talents for the beauty industry.

Asia Connects catches up with Eng to chat about her journey from being a reluctant nail care entrepreneur to championing the welfare of the industry and how nail care has evolved beyond aesthetics. 

 Asia Connects: How did your journey in the nail care sector begin?

Eng: Purely by accident! I was 24 or 25 years old and running a property management company with my husband. As the company stabilised, it required less attention. So, I started looking for another investment opportunity. The nail salon I frequented in SS2, Petaling Jaya, wanted to sell its business. I decided to buy it, even though I had no experience in the industry. That was in 2008. 

Being so young, I was pretty naïve. I thought of it as more of a glamorous investment, and it would not require too much personal involvement because the staff would run it. 

Soon, I realised that loving to get my manicure done and running it as a business are entirely different things. I was overly reliant on the staff. Because I was once their customer, the team knew that I was completely inexperienced in this field. They started giving me suggestions on how to run the business more for their benefit – like telling me that we should close on weekends because there would not be many customers or asking me to buy products that were not necessary. I followed their advice until I started researching and found out I was being played. 

So, I fired all the staff and closed the shop for a month. During that time, I took intensive nail courses and learnt about the industry from A to Z – from team management to customer service. In 2010, I rebranded the business as POSH Nail Spa. 

AC: Why did you double down instead of selling the business when the investment required more effort than expected?

Eng: It’s my personality. When I see a challenge or difficulty, I don’t back down. I’ll try to overcome it by doing better. 

For example, the initial location of the nail salon in SS2 was not attracting the up-market clientele I was targeting. After some search, my husband and I came across an ideal spot in Taman Tun Dr Ismail – the space of 1,800 square feet is almost double the SS2 outlet. Sure, the rental is double. We used almost all our savings, plus loans, to afford the shop and the renovations. 

This paid off. Our clientele is now aligned with POSH’s direction, which is to emphasise classy and minimalistic designs, nail health and hygiene, as well as pampering services like hand and foot massages, and less on elaborate nail art. The ample space also gives us the luxury of holding nail parties, like bridal showers with manicure and pedicure services, which has helped us spread brand awareness.

The POSH outlets now run pretty smoothly. I keep track of all happenings and traffic in the shops through a CCTV system that I can monitor with an app on my phone. This frees up my time to network with suppliers, associates and external collaborators to grow the business. Of course, I couldn’t do this without the trusty team leaders managing each outlet.

 

AC: How do you cultivate trustworthy and reliable staff without being in the outlets physically?

Eng: Attracting the right talent is crucial, which is why building a strong brand is essential. We once had a candidate who applied to our salon and interviewed with us three times – I only accepted her on the third attempt. Every time she failed our interview, she improved her skills before trying again. I asked her why. Her answer surprised me; she said she wanted to work with POSH because it’s one of the top brands in the industry. 

I run POSH like a corporation – each team member is evaluated by a measurable system and knows how they can progress in this company. So, the brand attracts the talents first. Then, when they join the team, what keeps them happy and committed are good company culture and values, a well-paid salary, and a clear career growth path. Three of my staff have been with POSH for over ten years now. The rest, at least six years and above. 

AC: That’s pretty long. Is that common in the nail industry?

Eng: No. For most nail salons, the team member turnover rate is high. This is because the entry barrier to this industry is very low. Nail technicians eventually realise they don’t even have to work for someone; they can put all their nail polish and equipment in a basket and provide door-to-door services. 

Another issue is the unfavourable perception of this profession. Once, my staff was giving out flyers when a mother and her daughter passed by. The mother pointed to my staff and told her daughter, “You need to study hard, or you will end up like her.” My staff got very upset. Perception like this affects nail workers’ self-esteem. 

My purpose is to elevate the status of nail workers and make the nail profession a respectable career. Through leadership and relevant training, our vision at POSH is to help nail technicians carry themselves confidently and be proud of their work. 

One way to earn respect is to go beyond beautifying nails to provide professional services for nail issues. For example, older clients may face the problem of geriatric nails – hardened and growing oddly – making it difficult for them to cut them on their own. Or, some clients have ingrown nails that cause excruciating pain and need to be properly maintained regularly. This is where we come in.

Many nail salons are focused on nail art, but that is not POSH’s focus. We offer nail art services, but they will be for more simplistic designs. Our specialisation is in improving nail health and helping customers solve nail problems.

AC: How did POSH weather through the pandemic lockdowns in the past two years?

Eng: We sold credits, services and gift vouchers via our web store, which customers can purchase and use when we reopen. Thanks to our customers’ trust, we achieved a six-figure revenue via these buy-now-use-later sales. This was good enough to help us sustain four to five months. 

To give my staff something to do and keep work morale up, I also organised corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes like food drives for the needy. Nail brands were also running free online training. We attended a lot of those. That was also when we obtained the certification to provide geriatric nail care, which became our speciality when we reopened. This got us 10 to 20 new customers who come in specifically for geriatric nail services. 

AC: Now that nail salons can be reopened, are there any other challenges the industry faces?

Eng: Having been in this industry for over ten years, I’ve seen nail salons mushrooming everywhere, but many would close down within a year. It is due to the intense price war instead of skills. 

Imagine this: POSH charges RM80 for a pedicure, while another salon charges RM29. While we only have to focus on serving one customer well, this other salon will have to serve two to three more customers. The quality of their service and products would also be questionable. So, I always believe that the price war should be eliminated. 

The mindset game cannot be played overnight. Somebody needs to start first, and I could be the one to keep doing what I believe. Hopefully, others will see the impact and slowly adjust on their own. We may not be able to change others, but we can change ourselves first. 

Read Previous

Healing with Passion

Read Next

The HAUS of Halal: Digital marketing and cosmetics make chemistry

Most Popular