More than 2,300 barber shops have opened across Britain in the past year, making it the fastest-growing sector of the retail economy, according to a survey by the Local Data Company. The surge in popularity, driven by young men's desire to look their best on social media, has led to intense competition on high streets, with some areas seeing over a dozen barbers within a mile.
In Eltham, south-east London, barber Abdullah Mahmoudi, 36, of Joe's Barbers, said the number of competitors has risen sharply since he started 14 years ago. 'When I moved here there were three or four barbers around here but now I counted over 39 in the area,' he said. 'The council are to blame. They should not let any more open.'
However, the boom has also prompted concerns about criminal activity. Security sources told The Mail on Sunday that some barber shops may be used as fronts for organised crime, including money laundering, human trafficking and slave labour, similar to nail bars and car washes. Former Metropolitan Police officer Ali Hassan Ali said: 'A lot of these shops have thousands of pounds of equipment but no customers... there is strong reason to believe a large number... have links to organised crime.'
Despite the concerns, some barbers remain unfazed. Abdullah Mohammed, 36, of Westmount Barbers, said his shop remains busy during peak times. Guven Ozdenir, 31, who opened Grooming Han Atelier in Eltham just over a year ago, expressed confidence in his business's quality to retain customers.
