Top Sydney hairdresser Jaye Edwards sells off five EdwardsAndCo salons

One of Australia’s best hairdressers has sold off five of his 10 salons and explained the reason behind the decision.

Jaye Edwards has sold off five of his salons. Picture: Richard Dobson

Top Australian hairdresser Jaye Edwards has sold off five of his 10 EdwardsAndCo salons nationally, explaining there was nothing untoward about the decision to shrink his empire.

The 35-year-old admits he had to put his ego aside to make the move but ultimately felt it best for quality control for his clients that pay premium prices of up to $600 for a hair service.

“I was spreading myself too thin,” Edwards told Confidential.

“It was getting more and more difficult to control the quality being put out by the stylists. We started hiring more out of desperation than necessity because we were having to fill seats rather than being particular about who we hire and then when the opportunity fell into my lap, initially I said no.”

The industry young gun, originally from Young in NSW, is an Hairdresser of the Year who also travels the world teaching his signature lived-in beachy Australian style.

He sold off his Crown Street, Surry Hills, location, as well as two in Byron Bay (one a sub brand named Bloe) and the other on the Gold Coast. A fifth concession within Mecca in the Sydney CBD closed earlier this year.

Jaye Edwards at his Crown St salon that is one of the five to be sold.

The salons he has sold have kept the name EdwardsAndCo for now.

That leaves Edwards with two salons in Victoria, one in NSW (Kippax Street, Surry Hills) and two in Queensland.

“I think I said no (to selling initially) because my ego wanted 10 salons still but the reality was, it presented me with an opportunity that I could take a step back and reassess,” he explained.

“The thing with having so many locations is you can’t be there for everyone, it is just impossible so shrinking back and minimising what I have allows me to be there for the salons I am keeping.

“Ego is good and bad, it is what gave me the energy to be able to open that many salons in that amount of time (12 years) but it is also what made me keep them when it wasn’t necessary to have them. It was a hard realisation for me.”