Klier Hair Group

What Klier Hair Group does

Klier Hair Group GmbH is a third-generation, family-owned German hairdressing company headquartered in Wolfsburg, operating approximately 700 salons and shops across Germany, the Czech Republic and Slovakia under five salon brands (KLIER, Super Cut, essanelle, HairExpress, Styleboxx) and one retail brand (COSMO). Founded in 1948, the company describes itself as Germany's largest hairdressing company and Europe's largest hairdressing service provider, with roughly 5,500 employees and a training operation described as Germany's largest in the hairdressing trade. Service offerings include cuts, coloring, balayage, treatments, and styling for the whole family, distributed through shopping-center, retail-park and department-store locations.

Revenue is generated primarily through point-of-sale service fees at the salon network, supplemented by retail product sales through the Klier Hair World e-commerce platform and the COSMO wholesale/retail brand, which distributes third-party professional products (e.g., Wella) alongside the proprietary Clear Beauty line introduced in 1992. Pricing is unit-based per service (one disclosed example: Power Emulsion at €17.90), with a BonusCard loyalty program supporting repeat visits. The company relies on third-party technology — Tillhub for booking/POS and customer management, Ninox for CRM, Brevo for email, and HubSpot for the website — rather than proprietary platform infrastructure, and launched online appointment booking across all brands in 2020.

Following a 2020–2021 protective shield restructuring triggered by COVID-19, Klier exited Austria and Hungary and consolidated subsidiaries (HairGroup, Friseur Klier, Cosmo Beauty) into Klier Hair Group GmbH, with a unified brand repositioning completed in 2023. Growth strategy emphasizes continued salon unit expansion for the KLIER, Super Cut and HairExpress concepts, deeper digital channels, and the loyalty-driven customer retention model.

Name

Klier Hair Group

Legal name

Klier Hair Group GmbH

Website

https://klier.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1948

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

Klier Hair Group is Germany's largest family-owned hairdressing company, operating approximately 700 salons across Germany, the Czech Republic and Slovakia under five salon brands and the COSMO retail brand, serving individual consumers and families with haircuts, color and styling services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Wolfsburg

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations

Revenue model

1. Hairdressing Services: Point-of-sale service revenue from haircuts, coloring, treatments, and styling services provided at approximately 700 salon locations across Germany.
2. Retail Product Sales: Sale of hairdressing and styling products through the Klier Hair World online shop and COSMO wholesale/retail brand.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Klier Hair Group operates a network of approximately 700 hairdressing salons across Germany under five distinct salon brands (KLIER, Super Cut, essanelle, HairExpress, Styleboxx), delivering professional hair services such as cuts, color, highlights, treatments, and styling to individual consumers and families. In parallel, the company sells professional hair care and styling products through the COSMO wholesale/retail brand and the Klier Hair World e-commerce platform, supported by its own Clear Beauty product line and a loyalty program (BonusCard).

Product overview

Klier Hair Group is a German hairdressing salon company operating approximately 700 salons and shops across five distinct salon brands (KLIER, Super Cut, essanelle, HairExpress, Styleboxx) plus a retail shop brand (COSMO) and an online shop (Klier Hair World). Founded in 1948, it is Germany's largest hairdressing company and Europe's leading hairdressing service provider. The core offering is hairdressing services (cuts, color, highlights, treatments) delivered through the KLIER brand, with four additional salon concepts targeting different market segments (budget-friendly HairExpress, trend-focused Super Cut, contemporary essanelle, creative Styleboxx). The company also sells hair care products through its COSMO wholesale/retail brand and the Klier Hair World online platform, where own-brand products like Clear Beauty (launched 1992) are offered alongside professional lines including Wella products. A loyalty program (BonusCard) and online appointment booking (via Tillhub) support customer retention and service access across all brands.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• essanelle: Comprehensive hairdressing services in contemporary ambiance
• Super Cut
• HairExpress
• COSMO
• Styleboxx
• Clear Beauty

Products and services

• KLIER (Salon Brand) The primary salon brand of Klier Hair Group offering a broad range of professional hairdressing services for the whole family — cuts, color, highlights, balayage, strand treatments, styling, and hair care consultation. Operates as a generalist salon concept across over 350 locations in Germany and is positioned as the nr. 1 salon brand in the country.
• Super Cut (Salon Brand) A trend-oriented salon concept targeting a younger, style-conscious demographic. Provides personal styling in a trendy and hip salon atmosphere, offering a distinct experience from the mainline KLIER brand.
• essanelle (Salon Brand) A contemporary salon brand offering comprehensive hairdressing services in a modern, timely ambiance, targeted at customers seeking up-to-date styling in a current atmosphere.
• HairExpress (Salon Brand) A budget-friendly salon concept offering professional hairdressing services at a very good price-performance ratio in a friendly and fresh atmosphere, targeted at value-conscious consumers.
• Styleboxx (Salon Brand) A creative hairdressing service brand operating in an appealing ambiance, targeting customers seeking specialized and creative styling in a distinctive salon environment.
• COSMO (Shop Brand) Hairdresser-exclusive brand variety for hair care and styling products, distributed through both physical wholesale/retail operations and online. Consolidates former Beautyhairshop under the COSMO name from 2022.
• Klier Hair World (Online Shop) E-commerce platform selling professional hair care and styling products directly to consumers, including own-brand Clear Beauty products and partner brands such as Wella. Provides a digital extension of the physical salon retail experience.
• Clear Beauty (Own Product Brand) Proprietary hair care product brand owned by Klier Hair Group and sold exclusively through its salon network and the Klier Hair World online shop, providing an exclusive product line differentiating the in-salon offering.

Quantifiable outcome

• 4.1 out of 5 stars rating with over 10,000 reviews in the last three years

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration15 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• It's for Kids FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Germany's large creative donation foundation. Customers can donate hair (minimum 25cm braid length) to help children suffering from hair loss due to illness receive real hair wigs free of charge. Normal co-payment is 2,000-3,000 EUR. KLIER collects and donates the hair.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves13 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Rush Hair: UK-based multi-location premium hair salon chain with 50+ salons. Direct peer to Klier in multi-brand, multi-location hairdressing service delivery and target consumer (style-conscious, family and trend-oriented segments).
• Toni&Guy: Globally franchised hair salon brand founded in the UK with hundreds of salons worldwide. Direct peer in providing branded, multi-tier hairdressing services and a portfolio approach (Toni&Guy, label.m, essensuals) targeting different price/style segments.
• Jean Louis David: European hair salon chain with ~300 salons across France and continental Europe. Closely comparable to Klier's Super Cut/essanelle sub-brands in trend-oriented, mid-market positioning and standardized salon concept.
• Dessange Paris: French-founded international hair salon franchise and product house with salons across Europe. Comparable to Klier on the combination of branded salon services plus owned haircare product range and franchise-based geographic expansion.
• Franck Provost: Major French hair salon chain with hundreds of locations across France and Europe. Direct peer in mid-to-premium family and women-focused hairdressing with strong brand presence in shopping centers.
• Coiff&Co: French mid-market hair salon chain with ~500 salons in France and Belgium. Direct peer to Klier in value-positioned, high-traffic, family-oriented hairdressing with a multi-brand portfolio approach.

Broad incumbents

• Regis Corporation: US-listed parent of SmartStyle, Supercuts, Cost Cutters and other salon brands with thousands of locations globally. Broad incumbent comparable in multi-brand, franchise-driven salon platform strategy at much greater scale than Klier.
• Great Clips: Largest US hair salon franchise with ~4,400 salons, walk-in service model, and digital check-in. Broad incumbent comparable to Klier on accessible, no-appointment walk-in service (Reinkommen-Drankommen) at high-traffic retail locations.

Emerging players

• Just Cuts: Australian walk-in-only hair salon franchise with 200+ salons. Comparable to Klier on walk-in, no-appointment haircut-led model in shopping centers, though smaller and geographically distinct.

Regional players

• HOB Salons: UK-based multi-location hair salon group operating in high-street and shopping-center formats. Comparable to Klier's mid-market segment positioning in family and women-focused services, but UK-focused rather than German.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/frisoerklier
• Instagraminstagram.com/frisoerklier
• TikToktiktok.com/@klier_official
• Pinterestde.pinterest.com/klier_official

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Klier Hair Group