What is the Turkish barber business model?

Listen, this isn't a racially profiling thing. This happens. I know you don't like the thought of it so just smear everyone as far-right. But stop sticking your head in the sand. You have no knowledge or understanding of what you're talking about.

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danabrey@reddit

You're taking one case of something happening and implying that means that all Turkish barbers are doing the same thing.

If that's not racial profiling then what is?

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Cultural_Tank_6947@reddit

I'm not sticking my hand in any sand. I read both the articles you posted, and they are essentially the same story. They quote the same former Met Police officer.

They don't request any clarification from currently serving Met Police, they don't present any figures, etc.

There is one instance of one individual being involved in criminal activity but if we start using one criminal case to tar an industry with the same brush, let's extend the same privilege to every business out there.

I didn't smear anyone as being far right. You're the one who came here and posted essentially the same story as two different sources which has one report of one crime and one former policeman who says they are certain that something isn't right in these businesses.

That isn't an expert source, that is one crime report and a bunch of speculation. If there were some actual facts and figures, and verifiable statistics, we might have a conversation worth having.

Without that, all it achieves is makes people wonder if something is a criminal activity even though it's very easily proven that there's just crazy demand for haircuts in this country.

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Asleep_Background_94@reddit

Ahhh but you see…the paper and his middle class elderly white neighbours said so

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Advanced_Apartment_1@reddit

In my local town, a barber had been there sonce the 70s (mabee earlier, not quite sure)

During covid, footfall fell off a cliff. They limped on with reduced staff until mid 23 when they finally closed due to poor trade.

Meanwhile, since that has shut. There's now 2 turkish barbers in 2 mins walk, and a 3rd about 5 mins walk away.

How can it be that the long established business can't get the numbers but 3 other businesses on the same patch can?

Now, i'm not going to say explicitly that they're 100% money laundering (or other criminal activity) as there's no way i can prove it.

But, the idea that this is happening is with everyone you speak to. And, quite francky, if it's not. I'd be totally astonished.

In years too come, this is gonna get found out and it's going to be so obvious to everyone.

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HydroBrit@reddit

Thank you for your story. I think you're hamstringing yourself with "well it's not proven so I don't know if it's true". Deep down, you know it is. All the signs point to it, so it basically is proven to be true, with the only thing left being an outright admission of it.

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One_Pangolin_999@reddit

You.mean their inherent racism?

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Latter_Present1900@reddit (OP)

It ain't racism. The icecream vendors are dodgy too and they're white.

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Mother-Result-2884@reddit

Simple answer is money laundering

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denjin@reddit

It's not money laundering. It would be naive to say there is no money laundering but it's the exception not the rule.

Low start up costs, in the £1,000s unlike other businesses like cafes or shops which can easily be in the £10,000s.

Practically unlimited supply of staff with low barrier to entry.

Customers have to be physically present and can't get it online unlike most traditional High Street businesses. High turnover of customers, most blokes can be in and out in 15-20 minutes, it's also more common for guys to go every couple of weeks rather than monthly like it used to be. There's also more services on offer than were before with shaves, beard trims, eyebrows etc.

Predominantly cash based which allows for lots of profits to be hidden from HMRC.

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Willing-Confusion-56@reddit

It IS money laundering

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danabrey@reddit

Why?

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denjin@reddit

Because white people can't make the business thrive so the brown people in the same industry simply must be doing something illegal

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Asleep_Background_94@reddit

This !! All the old white run barbers around me are basically shit. They offer no hot towel shave, no waxing, no coffee whilst you wait, and no little head massage at the end.

I pay £32 for a haircut every 2 weeks at the Turkish barbers and will continue to do so because I walk out feeling good and looking good. People all seem to be confused about why they keep popping up, but the fact I have to wait nearly an hour every time tells me they are doing something correct.

Ofcourse some will be involved in illegal activity, it so are many businesses such as cafes, construction firms, car washes etc etc it’s just life

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CrossCityLine@reddit

Classic Reddit answer.

It isn’t money laundering, it’s just a VERY cheap business to start up.

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Careful-Swimmer-2658@reddit

No it isn't. There's rent, business rates, power, insurance, National insurance, tax... And so on. It can on the other hand be an almost entirely cash business. There are a couple in my town that charge £5 per haircut. That wouldn't even keep the lights on if they were busy, which they very definitely aren't (and neither is the attached, cash only, nail bar.)

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WrongCurve7525@reddit

Water costs as well.

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Perite@reddit

Barbers are self employed, so you don’t pay tax or national insurance to start up. Your upfront costs are rent and some super basic furniture.

I’m not saying that they’re all a money laundering front. But compared to any shop or restaurant the startup costs and barriers to entry are low.

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Latter_Present1900@reddit (OP)

But doesn't anyone on the council have the backbone to say " no, this is wrong" ?

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barriedalenick@reddit

You don't have to apply to open a barbers and councils would rather have someone paying rates than it lie empty. Anyway why is it wrong?

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katie-kaboom@reddit

Councils don't govern what businesses rent shop fronts. As long as the usage category is suitable they can't do anything about it, usually.

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Mother-Result-2884@reddit

What would you rather see, open shops paying council tax, or boarded up shops?

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ButterscotchSure6589@reddit

And income tax and nat insurance on their I'll gotten gains

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Cultural_Tank_6947@reddit

There are 30,000 men in Taunton.

These men probably go to the barber anything between 10-25 times a year.

Let's for argument sakes say only half the men in Taunton get a haircut, and they do it once a month.

That means you need 15,000 x 12 haircuts a year, which means 180,000 haircuts a year.

Let's assume each barber can do 10 haircuts a day, and works 225 days a year, so does 2250 haircuts a year.

That means you need 80 barbers working in Taunton.

If each barbershop in Taunton has 4 barbers working there, that's the need for at least 20 shops.

If more than half the men in Taunton get monthly haircuts, you probably need more barbershops.

Stop asking these fucking stupid questions every day.

It's not money laundering. It's not drugs.

It's a relatively low barrier to entry business that has pretty high and consistent demand.

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Latter_Present1900@reddit (OP)

25 times a year? You obviously haven't been to Taunton.

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Cultural_Tank_6947@reddit

Now, I've never been to Taunton that is completely true. However, if I use myself as an example, I visit the barbers every 6 weeks or so and I know enough people who go twice a month.

So once a month isn't a bad average.

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passengerprincess232@reddit

Everytime I walk past a Turkish barber they have full or nearly full seats. On a weekend there are people standing waiting to be seen. I think the ‘business model’ is a very simple supply and demand. My fella gets his hair cut at one every 2 weeks as does my dad.

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One_Pangolin_999@reddit

Every two weeks? Geez

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passengerprincess232@reddit

They’re both very vain men. I recognise that’s not the norm

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lysergic101@reddit

There's a fella who owns a few near me, had the front door of one shot up and a few rounds put into his range rover.....must have been a customer unhappy with his haircut.

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TrashbatLondon@reddit

Barber shops are incredibly low cost businesses. Each chair has the capacity to bring in £100+ an hour. Even at 20% occupancy, a 3 chaired shop is pulling £480 a day in a very small square footage with little cost other than electricity to plug in clippers. Take half that in off book cash, then you’re effective earnings are higher.

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Latter_Present1900@reddit (OP)

The shops I see are always empty. Just two guys browsing their phones.

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Zaliciouz@reddit

There are over 25 barber shops near me, and a large gang/group that you can buy cocaine off 24/7 365 days a week. Both are undeniably linked and I obviously won’t be posting why/how I know that.

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Ronsona@reddit

Something for the weekend sir?

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Zaliciouz@reddit

😃 not anymore, took months to quit but I’m finally clean 👌

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CatalunyaNoEsEspanya@reddit

A single barber can service approximately 120 customers per week if consistently busy. Assuming an interval of 6 weeks, just over average, the barber can have a customer base of 720 people. A Turkish barber is likely to have shorter intervals imo due to the style but I digress.

Over 82k people like in Taunton, going to assume 40k are males and 0 / negligible women attend. If 100% of men attend a barber the town can support 55 completely full barber's chairs.

Even at 75% it's 42 chairs. More likely than not they have less busy periods occasionally too so you'd need more chairs total.

If the haircut is £25 a barber working non-stop for 40 hours per week takes nearly £1m.

Costs?

Genuinely no idea cannot speculate. Presumably they'd have to at least: pay rent , utilities, some kind of indemnity insurance in case they remove an ear, protection money, ~~tax~~, and sundries (hair products etc.).

But this is Reddit so money laundering

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danabrey@reddit

If the haircut is £25 a barber working non-stop for 40 hours per week takes nearly £1m.

Per what?

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Latter_Present1900@reddit (OP)

I'd rather see a boarded shop than criminal gangs taking the piss.

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Bourbon_Cream_Dream@reddit

It was pretty obvious what your angle was going to be, no use fannying around it

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Tigertotz_411@reddit

Or Kurdish refugees following a business model with low upfront costs and little need for a good grasp of English?

But yeah sure, they must be criminals. Criminals tend not to advertise themselves.

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