Wilfred and Molly Collinge opened Collinge’s hair salon in Liverpool in 1940, a business that eventually became Andrew Collinge – now it is changing its name again and unveiling a new-look city centre flagship. Tony McDonough reports

Andrew Collinge is one of Liverpool’s best-known hair salon brands with a history in the city going back more than 80 years.

Wilfred and Molly Collinge opened a hairdressing salon and barber shop called Collinge’s on Muirhead Avenue in West Derby in 1940. Today it operates five salons as well as a training division.

On Tuesday it reopened its new-look flagship outlet in Castle Street in Liverpool city centre. And the business is now operating under a new brand – Collinge & Co.

And the business has also made a new investment into digital platforms, allowing customers to connect the salons through social media, via SMS, making appointments online or by phone.

In 1954, Wilfred and Molly’s son Peter started his own business in Church Street in the city centre. It was from here that he established a reputation as one of Britain’s top competition hairdressers.

In 1985 the business grew when Andrew and Liz Collinge opened a salon in Heswall, Wirral. Andrew had trained at top London hairdressers, Michaeljohn, and would go on to be twice named British Hairdresser of the Year. Liz was a leading make-up artist.

Together they became familiar faces on ITV’s This Morning when it was broadcast from Liverpool’s Albert Dock, giving lucky viewers great makeovers on a weekly basis. As Andrew’s profile grew in the 1990s, the salons were renamed Andrew Collinge.

Today thecompany today is now managed by Andrew & Liz’s son, Charlie. It operates from Castle Street and Bold Street in Liverpool, Heswall, Ormskirk and Selfridges Trafford Centre, Manchester.

The training division, which provides hairdressing apprenticeships to salons throughout the North West, is now called Collinge & Co Training.

Charlie said: “We’re really excited to start this new chapter as Collinge & Co. We’ve always recognised the important contributions our employees have made to the company and the time feels right for them to also be represented within an inclusive name.

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“We have changed name and evolved before, but through all the years the teams have always cared about delivering amazing customer service and hairdressing artistry.”

As part of the rebrand, the company’s flagship salon on Castle Street has undergone a complete revamp.

Andrew added: “We have always taken great pride in creating beautiful salons for our clients to visit and for our hairdressing teams to enjoy working in.

“The new look Collinge & Co flagship salon is a great success in achieving everything we stand for. The decor is warm and inviting, it includes two private salons and with its use of technology, it’s very much a salon of our time.”

Much thought went into the salon concept, explained Liz Collinge. She said: “As a make-up artist, I’ve always enjoyed working with the hairdressing team to create beautiful imagery.

“The new salon design provides exciting opportunities, with its photogenic backdrops and video wall, we can photograph, film and showcase our creative work, providing content for our website and social platforms.”