South African-born brand ‘Legends Barbershop’ share plans on setting up a training centre in Ghana

Meet Sheldon Tatchell, the South African-born and raised founder of Legends Barbershop: an African brand with global positioning. He was in Ghana a few weeks back and had the opportunity to share his journey on starting Legends Barbershop ten years ago, and his future goal of being the leading barbershop on the continent of Africa; while facilitating training opportunities as the brand grows.

Q: When and how did Legendary Barbers start? What inspired the decision to start a professional barbering service?

ST: I started cutting hair in 2011, out on the steps of a local supermarket in Eldorado Park, with one clipper and one chair, while still working full time at my corporate job. The demand for cuts kept growing, so I got a few guys to help out and we grew to our first barbershop in the heart of Eldorado Park with no store name. The steady growth and demand pushed me to be able to make the risky decision to quit my job and grow my barbering business.

Q: How many people have Legendary Barbers trained or employed so far?

ST: Legends has employed 435 staff members across the 60 stores in South Africa, Botswana and Lesotho.

Q: What values do Legendary Barbers represent?

Legends Barbershop believes that our values and culture set us apart from other companies in the industry. Our culture is made up of our traditions and values, established in 2011 when our first store opened. At Legends, we pursue excellence and continuous improvement in all departments of our brand; and teamwork and trust are at the center of our family culture and relationship building. We strive to create an environment where our employees and customers have a sense of belonging.

Q: How do you run your services? (For instance, walk-in or mobile)

The majority of our customer base are walk-in clients. We also have a mobile barber service available for a more personalized and exclusive service that offers facials, a minibar, and a mini mani.


Q: How has the journey been so far, focusing on your challenges as an African Brand with a global positioning?

One of the challenges we faced early on was not being taken as seriously as some of the American brands out in the market. People tend to have the perception that African brands are not able to achieve the same things as an American brand can. But once you can showcase why you need to be positioned as the same or better, then people start taking you seriously. A focus of ours was offering a wide range of Legendary products that set us apart from the competition; including items like our wave brushes and most requested beard oil.

Q: What has been your major milestone and some of the “legends” who have walked into your barbering shop?

A few of the highlights along this journey is being able to build a reputable clientele, ranging from major celebrities from Riky Rick to Usher. Or the time when we got to cut Davido's hair for his music video shot at one of our stores in Soweto. A major milestone was being awarded as Africa's number 1 Barber at the 2019 Hair Awards.

Q: We saw that you were in Accra, Ghana a few weeks back. Would you like to share a few of your experiences and the kind of people you met?

I visited Accra, Ghana and I was blown away by the people of the country. From those hustling on the street, to the boardroom businessman and to see that everyone has the same hunger and spirit in them. Everyone has what we call in South Africa 'Ubuntu' which talks about caring for one another. I was sitting in a taxi and I saw a lady selling water, I took out 50 cedis to buy a bottle, she gave me the water, took the money than gave it back and said God bless you. That for me, coming from South Africa was unheard of, where most tend to look out for their own pocket. But experiencing this treatment from a woman in Accra who may have been trying to make ends meet to feed her family was a blessing for me in the way that I see Ghana and the people it's been an interesting journey. Even the major business people that I met, to see the drive behind them and why they work so hard. I met a few guys who own up to 3 businesses… and many of us are struggling just to uphold one. It really inspired me and showed me that anything is possible.

Q: Are you looking at exploring opportunities here in Ghana (for instance opening a branch in Ghana)? If yes, how soon should we be looking forward to that?

We are looking to explore opportunities in Ghana, but our first priority is to open a training center/workshop to train those who want to learn the trade, as well as upskill local barbers and empower local talent. The purpose of our training facilities is to equip the trainee to be the best legendary barber and to give them a good insight into the brand.

Q: You currently have 60 branches in South Africa, Lesotho, and Botswana. What other African countries are you looking at setting up Legendary Barbers in the coming years?

We currently have 60 branches within the SADC region and are looking to expand into other countries; specifically where we have already set up training schools, e.g in Namibia and Zambia. We're also looking to expand further into the SADC region into Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania, Kenya, next are West African countries like Ghana and Nigeria that are on our radar.

Q: It is very evident that as the business grows, your employees grow along with it. How are you able to achieve that and how do you invest in your people?

You are so spot on when it comes to business growth. We've seen it over the years with our employees who have gone up the ranks from barber to supervisor to Regional Manager to the Head of respective Departments, to even becoming the owner of their own Franchise shop. It speaks wonders, it speaks to them being able to build for the next generation. We've also introduced courses and bursaries for our guys to upskill themselves, as a way to ensure we continue to grow as a business and as a way to retain our staff by creating an environment they want to be in.

Q: Aside from offering barbering services, what other products or services do you offer?

Aside from offering products, services, and development, we also offer franchises. For those interested in becoming a franchisee, there is an application process available on our website -www.legends-barber.com. Our franchise model ensures a mutual benefit with a turnover of around 30-40% for the franchisee.