A Cut Above Puts On A Grand Show As It Turns 40! Malaysia’s premier group of salons continues to lead the pack after 4 decades

KUALA LUMPUR (18 September 2019): A Cut Above, Malaysia’s premier group of salons, celebrated its 40th anniversary in style with a gala musical cum hair show.

Aptly themed “Where Hair Meets Art”, 600 flamboyantly dressed guests were treated to an art exhibition featuring 20 mannequins adorned in fashion from the 70s to the noughties, before making their way to the ballroom for the highlight of the night – an epic hair show orchestrated by A Cut Above’s iconic founder Datin Winnie Loo herself.

The hair show, split into four segments, is a stage act and musical depicting Datin Winnie’s journey through the decades, from her formative years as a child and teenager to her romantic life and successful career.

It encapsulates the evolution of A Cut Above, first started by Datin Winnie as a fresh faced 23-year-old in Wisma MPI, Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur (now known as Wisma MPL). It was a bold move as female
entrepreneurs were a rarity in the 70s.

Today, A Cut Above has five outlets and an academy. The Group has two sister brands in Restyle, also with four outlets, and X-Cut, which focuses on express cuts.

“Many have asked why we limited our rate of expansion, as we could have easily opened a new outlet every year by franchising our brand. But we wanted to have full control of quality. We want to ensure the best talent is providing top notch service to our customers. That has always been a core principle of A Cut Above,” said Datin Winnie.

The models in each segment of the hair show were styled by A Cut Above’s creative directors Faevien Yee and Joe T’ng, and senior stylists Dicksum Low and James Wong, and this demonstrated the depth of talent in A Cut Above.

“We want to continue developing and giving exposure to our team of talents, many of whom have won individual awards,” said Datin Winnie.

While Datin Winnie continues to style at the insistence of her very loyal customers 40 years on, she has been gradually passing on the baton to her son Marcus Teo over the past five years.

“I still style because my loyal customers – who are now my friends – insist that I do. Similarly, our other stylists have also cultivated long-term relationships with customers and is able to offer invaluable fashion advice personalised to each individual.

“In terms of business, my husband Datuk Richard Teo and I have handed much of the operations over to Marcus. He has quietly done all the work behind the scenes, so today, I want to publicly credit him for all his efforts,” she said.

Marcus confessed it would be a heavy responsibility to uphold his parents’ legacy, as they have built the brand from scratch.

“We will continue evolving our brand as we keep up with the fast-paced fashion trends. As we innovate, we are also mindful of the need to be sustainable – we have seen many salons who expand rapidly but also shut down as quickly.

“We have managed to stay strong for 40 years largely due to our core values of delivering premium quality service and products while staying in tune with the latest fashion trends. These values are ingrained in our team, many of whom are graduates of A Cut Above Academy,” said Marcus.

He added that there is a five-year plan to add one more A Cut Above outlet, and six more Restyle outlets, bringing the total to six and 10 respectively.

Marcus also thanked corporate partners, including L’Oreal Professional, Aveda, Keratase, CIMB Bank, The Botanist, ghd and Balmain, for coming on board as sponsors for the 40th anniversary celebrations.
The other sponsors are Milbon, Schwarzkopf, Shiseido, Joico, International Beauty Health and Education Association (IBHEA), Muk, Sisley, Dama Orchestra, Bravo Events & Entertainment and Tag Booth.

To further commemorate the special occasion, A Cut Above is having a month-long promotion this September, with customers offered up to 40% or RM40 off on selected products and services. This includes 40% off any Signature or Grandeur treatments on Mondays, and RM40 off Indulgence Treatments on Fridays and Sundays. For more details, please visithttps://acutabove.com.my/promotions/

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