Headquarters unisex barbers, in The Walk, was one of the many businesses in the town affected by the appalling Boxing Day floods. With damage estimated in the tens of thousands of pounds and repair work scheduled for two months, owner Kevin Wood feared he may have to close the salon and lay off his workforce - until Beales department store at Rochdale Exchange Shopping Centre stepped in.
“Everyone in town was affected in some way by the floods,” said Lorenzo O’Reilly, centre manager of the Rochdale Exchange, “and it was awful to see so many businesses struggling to either get back on their feet or even just open their doors. So when Keith Rudman, the manager of Beales, heard about Kevin’s fears for the business, he offered him a space here until the salon was back open and ready to take customers.”
Headquarters moved into the Rochdale Exchange in January, setting up shop in the former customer services area of Beales, near the beds department on the top floor.
Owner Kevin Wood said that the move had come as a welcome relief after the terrible sight of his business underwater. “We genuinely feared we’d have to turn customers away for months and not be able to keep all the staff on,” said Kevin. “Although there were no facilities for washing hair in our temporary home, we were so grateful just to be still able to offer dry cuts and keep the business ticking over.”
Headquarters reopened on Thursday, 25 February, and Lorenzo said he and the team at Rochdale Exchange were both proud and delighted to have helped out a fellow town trader. “We all saw the terrible levels of damage and destruction caused by the floods, and this epitomises the sense of community spirit we all felt in the wake of the downpour,” said Lorenzo. “It was such a great gesture from Beales to enable Kevin and his team to carry on looking after their clients, and we’re all thrilled that they have been able to get back into their salon so soon.”
01 Mar 2016