Last year, analysts from IiMedia Consulting in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, concluded that while a family-based management system once dominated China's beauty and hairdressing sector, it has been superseded by franchised institutions in recent years.

The sector includes a variety of salons, hair treatment and leisure facilities. Most adopt a membership-based management model, meaning customers have to register and all services are charged to their membership card.

IiMedia added that young women account for the vast majority of employees in the sector, which has a low entry threshold but a promising future.

The industry tends to attract large numbers of migrant workers from small towns and is seen as a good way of tackling the problem of unemployment.