Francesco Hair Salon’s story begins in a small Provenance in Italy, called Abruzzo, where Francesco was born in 1948. Francesco’s father, Alfonso, fought for Italy during the Second World War:

“Alfonso was posted as an overnight guard in Tobruk, North Africa, where he was captured and sent to England as a Prisoner of War and made to work on a farm in Hilderstone, Stone. Here he befriended the farmer, with whom he was stationed and, impressed with my father’s work ethic, informed him that there would be work for him, after the war, should he ever decide to come back to England” – Francesco Dellicompagni

Alfonso returned to Abruzzo, married Joyce and shortly after Francesco was born; fondly known as Frank. Alfonso decided to return to England, working his way across Europe to get back to the farm in Staffordshire. After two years he had enough money to send for Joyce and Frank. Once they were settled in Staffordshire, Frank’s mother gave birth to his two brothers, George and Peter.

At the age of 15, Frank began to fall in love with fashion and was swept along by the teenage revolution in the 1960s. Vidal Sassoon became his idol; his Mary Quant bob was the defining haircut of the 60s. “It made me realise that hairdressing was what I wanted to do”.

After discovering that an Apprenticeship would cost him £1,000, he chose to do a Diploma. He began the course expecting practical lessons, hands on learning and experimentation, but the reality was long theory lessons and outdated techniques. “It was here that I learnt how not to train. I decided that if I ever got the chance to make a difference to training, I would”. Frank hated not learning how to handle hair and sought private tuition at Wolverhampton College; he learnt a lot but was still eager to get into a salon.

In 1965 Frank returned to Italy to work in his cousin Mario’s salon. “Mario was a master hairdresser, he had won the L’Oréal European Colour Trophy! He taught me how to really look at a client’s face shape, how to personalise haircuts and to expertly dress hair.

Customer care was a huge part of Mario’s service; knowing the client’s first name, holding the door open, walking her to her car with an umbrella if it was raining, all these added extras went miles towards improving the client journey and salon experience”.

On Frank’s return to England in 1967, after spending 3 months in Mario’s salon, he worked at a local salon until he decided that he wanted to start out on his own!

He bought a Morris Minor van, travelling around Stafford dressing his clients’ hair in their homes and Franks road to success had started.

In 1968, a small salon on the outskirts of Stafford came up for sale and Frank had to have it! At Bridle Road, Frank created his winning formula, bringing together his hairdressing skills and customer service.

He also took on Apprentices and made sure he gave those learners the fantastic and exciting learning experience that he never had. At Bridle Road, Frank was joined by his brother George Dellicompagni, George worked with Frank for three years before deciding to go travelling, eventually setting up his own salon in Australia.

Frank’s younger brother, Peter Dellicompagni, began his Francesco Hair Salon journey working with Frank; but he wasn’t completely settled in his decision to become a hairdresser until he took a course in London’s West End.

It was during this time that he fell in love with hairdressing and knew it was for him! With Pete’s passion fully engrained, he and Frank decided to open another salon, called Jim Jams, under Pete’s watchful eye and leadership skills.

By the Mid 1970s Frank, alongside Pete, had built up a network of five salons with the names Francesco Group, Snippers, Bits & Bobs and Jim Jams.

In 1983, Frank and Pete unified all salons under the name of Francesco Group and they were franchised to many of the people Frank had trained in the salon from Apprentices. The first franchised salon was launched in Stone, perfectly demonstrating how far the Dellicompagnis had come in a generation; from prisoner of war to Franchisor, all in the same town.

Once they began to franchise, the salon numbers grew quickly, and the Group began to grow. Throughout the expansion, Frank and Pete focused on education; training staff from ‘grass roots’ and progressing them from apprentice to Franchisee. Above all, providing them with a hairdressing education that was practical and relevant to the industry. 

Training is Francesco Group’s lifeblood and their first hairdressing school was launched in Stafford in 1986. The success of the school resulted in a new foundation academy being launched to house the growing number of Apprentices and NVQ students.

The salons continued to grow and the 1990s saw the Group partnering with Wella Professionals; a decision that was reflective of the Group’s success.

Bringing together the expertise of the education world and the commercial world, a link was made with Walsall College of Arts and Technology, giving students the opportunity to develop on-site, in a state-of-the-art hairdressing salon that mirrored our own. It was the perfect avenue for the Group to give young people, from all backgrounds, the chance to reach their potential, providing them with ‘real training for the real world’.

Despite the Group’s unprecedented growth, the family values remained and their belief in family permeated the business at every level. In the early 2000s, Frank Dellicompagni decided to take a step back from the day-to-day running of the business.

Ben took the helm; alongside fellow Directors Richard Stenson, Andrea Owen and Craig Davies. They invested in two new training academies and acquired the South West Salon Group, Scissors, which in 2013 was rebranded Francesco Group.

To strengthen this vision, Ben was joined on the Board by his sister, Mia Dellicompagni and cousin, Anya Dellicompagni. 

“We have been brought up in this business; it’s in our bones! We are extremely proud of our heritage and what our family has built, but now it’s our turn! Our Father and Uncle have established a method that works and has been really successful, now we are building upon those values to take Francesco Group to the next level”. – Mia Dellicompagni 

Echoing how the business ran previously, brothers Frank & Pete, Anya, Ben and Mia decided to join forces as joint Managing Directors of the company; with Anya & Ben focusing on the more Northern and Midlands salons in the company and Mia concentrating on the salons by the South Coast. Anya & Mia embraced working closely with salons and developing the business.

In 2023, Anya and Mia’s attention has been on the business aspect of the group and our recent rebrand, whilst Managing Director, Ben Dellicompagni, heads up the FG Apprenticeships Team.

Our new identity, an exciting transformation from Francesco Group to Francesco Hair Salon, signifies more than just a name; it’s a reflection of our evolving nature and commitment to innovation. With the same dedication to excellence that you’ve come to expect, we’re redefining the Francesco Hair Salon experience.