East West Barbershop (Dong Tay Barbershop) has grown from a single Vietnamese store into an international men’s grooming brand

HÀ NỘI - The global men’s grooming industry is entering a new phase, with barbershop chains competing not only on haircutting skills but also on service standardisation, workforce training, brand building and customer experience.

Major brands such as Great Clips, Supercuts, Sport Clips, TONI&GUY, QB House, Jawed Habib Hair & Beauty, Yongqi Beauty & Hair, 3QCUT and East West Barbershop demonstrate how barbershops can evolve into large-scale businesses through standardised services, professional training and differentiated customer experiences.

Against this backdrop, Việt Nam’s East West Barbershop (Dong Tay Barbershop) has emerged as a notable name in Asia’s men’s grooming industry. The brand began with a single store in 2018. Eight years later, East West has grown to more than 130 locations in Việt Nam and several international markets.

Different paths to growth for leading grooming chains

Each major brand in the global hair industry has developed its own competitive advantages.

Great Clips stands out for its scale, convenience and franchise model. Supercuts has built its strength on an extensive network, a diverse range of services and the ability to serve customers quickly. Sport Clips focuses on men and boys, turning a haircut into a more relaxed experience through sports-themed environments.

Meanwhile, Japan’s QB House and 3QCUT have adopted a fast-haircut model, streamlining procedures to save customers time and reduce costs. TONI&GUY, by contrast, targets the premium segment, combining hair fashion with professional training.

In India, Jawed Habib Hair & Beauty leverages its founder’s personal brand alongside training and franchising systems. In China, Yongqi Beauty & Hair has developed an integrated beauty services model supported by membership programmes and customer management technology.

What these brands have in common is their focus on building systems that encourage customers to return. This is part of a broader trend reshaping the global grooming industry. As haircutting techniques become increasingly standardised, experience, convenience, consistent quality and brand identity are becoming critical factors in customer retention.

Against this backdrop, East West Barbershop (Dong Tay Barbershop), a major barbershop chain in Asia, is pursuing a distinct strategy: transforming the barbershop into an experiential destination.

When a haircut becomes an experience

After nearly a decade of development, East West Barbershop (Dong Tay Barbershop) operates more than 130 locations and employs more than 1,000 barbers, serving tens of thousands of customers each week. In 2026 alone, the chain has opened more than 20 new locations. Behind this expansion is its ability to deliver a consistent experience across its network. East West describes its model as an “experiential barbershop”.

East West Barbershop offers a family-friendly environment for younger customers

Its stores integrate a range of amenities, including pool tables, chess boards, pianos, reading areas, green spaces, bars and play areas, as well as car-shaped barber chairs designed for younger customers.

Beyond haircuts, customers can access services, including hair washing, massage, hair restoration treatments, perming, colouring, nail care, shoe cleaning and mobile phone sanitisation.

East West Barbershop (Dong Tay Barbershop) addresses a fundamental challenge in the grooming industry: how can a brand give customers a reason to return when thousands of alternatives are available?

A good haircut can create satisfaction after a single visit. A positive overall experience, however, can encourage customers to return.

For families, parents can bring their children along to the barbershop. For younger customers, entertainment facilities can turn what is essentially a routine service into a more enjoyable experience.

East West identifies barber training and chain-model standardisation as two key pillars of its development. As the number of locations grows, quality is maintained through standardised processes, training programmes and operating standards. This also enables a single barbershop to evolve into a scalable chain business.

The company also combines its commercial activities with social responsibility through free vocational training programmes, community haircut initiatives and support for social welfare activities.

From a single store to an international grooming brand

East West Barbershop’s growing scale gives the brand advantages in terms of visibility, market reach and its ability to serve customers across multiple markets.

For a barbershop chain, however, opening more locations is only the first step. Sustainable value lies in the ability to make every store part of a unified system in which service quality, customer experience and operating standards are consistently maintained.

This is also a common feature of the development strategies of the world’s leading hair chains. The value of a large-scale brand lies in its systems — from its store network and ability to train and develop barbers to service standardisation, operating procedures, brand building, management capabilities and network expansion.

East West Barbershop has developed into a relaxing space for men

For East West, the journey from a single store in 2018 to more than 130 locations eight years later demonstrates the brand’s capacity to scale, with each location maintaining the quality, experience and identity of the broader brand.

East West Barbershop (Dong Tay Barbershop) is now more than a large barbershop network. It is building a Vietnamese men’s grooming brand with plans for further international expansion./.