Wilhelmina Iimene
Legends Barbershop opened its first branch in Namibia on Saturday, making it a total of 62 branches across southern Africa.
Prior to the launch here, it was announced that free haircuts would be given to the first 62 customers, and people flocked to the venue in the city as early as 02h00. Mind you, the shop only opened at 07h00 that day.
“When we arrived, there were already people queued up, right into the street and around the corner,” said Desmond Shapwa, the local franchisee.
Shapwa said the need to branch out to Namibia was due to a high demand of Namibians travelling to Cape Town or Johannesburg to get the legendary haircut, or buy Legends’ hair products.
He described the opening of the 62nd Legends Barbershop as special, overwhelming and unexpected.
Legends Barbershop goes beyond cutting hair and selling products; they take local people to undergo training to become legendary barbers, at the same time curbing and reducing youth unemployment statistics. They are trained to build good relationships with every customer, and the right barbershop etiquette and engagement with whoever comes to their shop. That is how they stand out and remain true to their brand.
The barbers are situated at 61 Independence Avenue, shop number 0003, and operate from 08h00 till 18h00, every day.
Legends Barbershop is the brainchild of Sheldon Tatchell, who started cutting hair in Eldorado, South Africa in 2011 as a part-time job. He and partners regularly served the old-age home in Eldorado, Johannesburg as a way of giving back to the community. They call the old-age home residents their “legends”, and that was how the name came about.
The barbershop became a household name when they re-launched and officially kicked off in 2014. That same year, Tatchell left his corporate job so that he could focus on his dream of becoming a full-time barber.
“I told my manager I’m leaving my job to become a full-time barber. He laughed at me and told me that I will be back, and that I should give him a call whenever I need my job back. I never looked back,” Tatchell wrote on his LinkedIn profile.