Atelier Salon's Karie Bennett and Rob Willis
Atelier Salon's Karie Bennett and Rob Willis

In December 2017, Atelier Salon’s first and original location shut its doors after 15 years due to the loss of the lease. After much planning and early conversations with team members in all three locations, Karie Bennett and Rob Willis successfully merged 100% of the closing location’s 18 employees into their other two locations, with nine of the stylists moving to the salon located in Willow Glen, which was 15 minutes away. 

“We sent out several communications about our merge, had beautiful STAMP-award winning signage made and posted, let each client know where they could find their stylist and really focused on the feature of change,” Bennett says. “We offered salon tours for the merging clients and delivered an exceptional experience. We knew that they had a choice where to go and wanted to ensure that they felt comfortable at the new location and would not feel a loss by coming over. We offered them complimentary extras, such as hair treatments, to give the new location a try.”

"We were able to retain 70% of the clients for the four stylists who had been with us longer than two years and who moved to Atelier Willow Glen. The newest stylists were and are still building," Bennett says. 

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