Dividends: Trimmed-Down Prices

Last spring Beverly Hills Hairdresser Umberto Savone noticed that the hair-raising price of a wash, cut and blow-dry ($35) was driving clients away from his fashionable Wilshire Boulevard shop. To lure them back, Savone unveiled the "mini-serve." For a trimmed-down price of $15, cash-conscious customers can get their locks soaped, clipped and conditioned. The blow-dry, though, is strictly do-it-yourself. Savone provides the equipment, but the client does the work. "Shops and real estate businesses have been closing in Beverly Hills, and our clients could no longer afford our regular prices," says Savone. "This...

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