A BEAUTY salon just outside Winchester took home Large Salon of the Year at the 2023 Professional Beauty Awards. 

The staff of Richmond House Beauty in Otterbourne attended the black-tie event in London on March 5, along with more than 700 other beauty industry figures to celebrate the finalists and winners. 

The Large Salon of the Year category recognises businesses with four or more treatment rooms that consistently impress consumers and deliver impeccable customer service.

Applicants must show evidence of a well-designed salon, well-trained staff, a comprehensive treatment menu, and a successful retail strategy, among other requirements.

Founder Amy Matthews said she and the salon team are thrilled with their win: “It literally means everything to us, it’s really exciting. We’re all still buzzing from it.” 

She explained that the growth she saw in the business after the pandemic made the team feel ready to apply for the award. 

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“We finally felt ready that we could potentially win this award. We have a five-star rating on Google, we’ve got really good reviews and so we decided to try to win. We had to really be ready because it’s the most prestigious award in the industry. 

“It was a really gruelling process, there’s a really long application. We had to submit a video which we had done professionally, we had multiple secret shoppers in and an interview with five panellists all related to the industry. We went to London with no idea whether we were going to win, there was some really fierce competition,” she said. 

Amy attributes a lot of the salon’s success to her dedicated staff. “We’ve got an amazing team who are so tight knit. We’re always cheering each other on.” 

“To have formal recognition for all their hard work has been so amazing for morale. To not just have a pat on the back from me but from the whole industry, I think they are proud to work for the best large salon in the country.” 

Amy hopes that the salon’s win will only help the business continue to grow. 

She said: “We really want to grow the aesthetics part of the business and hopefully open Richmond House number two within the year.”