Salon in the Spotlight: Nailco Nail Bar, Glasgow
By Kat Hill | 31 July 2019 | Feature, Salon & Spas
Currently with three locations in Scotland, the Nailco team have their eyes firmly set on success. “We launched Nailco Nail Bar in September 2017 in Glasgow city centre,” explains owner, Jayd Alexandra Linney. “I bought the salon and fully refurbished and re-branded. The salon already had a great foundation and client base within the city, but the re-vamp opened up a whole new market for us and our brand received such positive feedback and support pretty much instantly.
“We started with a team of five nail techs and now have 16 in our Glasgow salon. We have an in-house social media team who are amazing and have played a huge role in making the brand the success that it is, as well as our ambitious and extremely hard-working management team who believe anything is possible! In other words, an absolute dream team all working together to provide the best service.
“Our second salon opened in Aberdeen in October 2018, and Topshop in Glasgow followed in May 2019. We also have another salon in the pipeline and are confident in saying we will have four sites by the time we see the end of 2019.”
The team were recently approached to open a nail bar in the Glasgow Topshop store. “We were contacted by Topshop in March of this year,” explains Jayd. “The team were very complimentary about our brand and expressed an interest in working with us. Topshop’s shopping style has moved towards a more experiential approach so they felt the addition of our salons in their stores would really help provide this. We felt that their brand really complimented ours. The rest as they say, is history!
“We are looking forward to expanding the business and growing our brand. We are hoping to open numerous salons throughout the UK within Topshop stores and our goal is to become a household name. It’s so exciting for us to be involved with such a huge brand; this opportunity has given us the chance to move quicker than we could have working alone. We really do feel the two brands are a perfect fit.”
The salon brand prides itself on being accessible as well as welcoming. “Our niche is, we have no niche!” says Jayd. “We are a nail bar for everyone. We have a young and trendy vibe on social media and regularly post things going on in popular culture as well as all things nails which often appeals to a younger market. Equally, our luxurious marble interior and high quality, personal service tends to appeal to an older clientele, too. We feel we’ve got the balance just right in order to make everyone feel welcome.
“Our social media style gives people a chance to get to know us before they even step foot in the door, and that is something that has always been so important to us. We create a welcoming and fun environment in luxury surroundings with a down to earth vibe. We are extremely proud of this.”
All the locations offer nail-focused menus with gel polish, and both hard gel and acrylic enhancements. However, the salons have become a destination owing to the team’s nail art skills. “We also do a lot of nail art and it’s the main thing we are really known for,” enthuses Jayd. “Our team are so creative and talented; they all have a massive interest in nail trends, often spending hours of their own time learning new tips and tricks! We do staff training with all of the team every second week which is a great way to ensure everyone is comfortable and confident.
“We actually started our own YouTubechannel this year which allows us to really showcase their talent and gave us the opportunity to share this with anyone who is eager to learning more about their trade.”
To meet these arty needs, the team have turned to The Gel Bottle Inc. “We are brand ambassadors for The Gel Bottle Inc and we absolutely love its products! What’s great about them is that it brings out new products and colours almost monthly. Plus being brand ambassadors, we get our hands on pre-releases which means our customers get the hottest nail trends first!”
The décor the salon reflects the salon’s ethos, Jayd explains. “Our salon sees a palette of white and grey. We have marble desks, as well as custom-made marble pedicure sinks and grey leather furniture. There’s also exposed, industrial-looking stainless steel everywhere you turn. We are also big fans of neon signs, quotes and anything interactive like our nailfie wall and pick ‘n’ mix station! There is no doubt we are a luxurious salon, but we designed it in a way that meant we still had the trendy and stylish edge.
“There’s nothing we love more than seeing a young girl coming in with her grandma to get their nails done together! It confirms we got the balance just right when it came to the design and we love that we can appeal to clients of all ages and expectations.”
