Xing Ke Duo (星客多) or XKD, is a no-fuss haircutting service founded in 2015

A series A-funded startup with close to 50 stores in Shanghai and Beijing, XKD relied on its quality service, rapid expansion capabilities and agile back-end development as a successful business model to grow the company. When XKD made the decision to revamp their brand and user experience, they chose EPAM Continuum to help realize their vision for the future. 

Key Challenges

As XKD expanded its footprint, its brand image and experience remained stagnant. XKD partnered with EPAM Continuum to develop a new brand and store design, explore ways to offer a holistic omnichannel experience and create new revenue sources that would not disrupt its core service experience.

Solution Highlights

With new findings and potential opportunities identified, EPAM Continuum facilitated multiple workshops and discussions with XKD’s leadership to hone in on the “be better” brand strategy. This direction helped influence XKD’s organizational values and new service strategy. New touchpoints include the hair style selection guide, a hair style diary and a self-serve styling bar to increase product sales. Together, these service features all help XKD differentiate its offering from competitors and increase the value for its customers.

To bring the experience to life, the EPAM Continuum team led the execution of a new brand strategy and translated it into implementable guidelines and criteria, which set forth a new direction for the retail space design, visual identity design and new service protocol.

The Results

The first new concept store opened its doors in August 2016 in Shanghai, and at the end of 2016, 16 new stores launched in both Shanghai and Beijing, with 20 more planned for the beginning of 2017. Since opening the 3.0 stores, customer retention had increased by 16%, meaning two out of three customers return to experience the service. The reception of and excitement for the new brand experience have been remarkable, the 3.0 stores and brand was also able to capture a larger female customers base, from 36% to 44% and rising. This signals the brand perception of XKD is moving toward a more beauty-driven and sophisticated clientele.

You can find the original case study from EPAM Continuum here.