Hair to stay, come what may!
Raissa Sidhu, assistant production manager of SRS Hair Clinic, talks about the family’s journey to overcome the aftermath of the Christchurch earthquake which destroyed their home as well as their clinic. The Sidhus rose from the ashes to build a bigger and better business in their new-found home in Auckland.
Paula Ray: Tell us about your journey to New Zealand. Why did you decide to come to this country?
Raissa Sidhu: We, actually, shifted from Europe to Australia initially,for lifestyle reasons.But we couldn’t cope with the extremely hot climate and so had to shift again across the Tasman Sea. We decided on Christchurch out of all cities, and lived quite comfortably there until the Christchurch earthquakes occurred in 2010-2011. We love New Zealand; it’s a beautiful country with lovely people and offers a great lifestyle.
PR: How were the first few years since you emigrated?
RS: There are three of us in the family: My parents Dr Raj Sidhu and Claudia Sidhu, and myself. We did very well in Christchurch. New Zealanders are increasingly embracing natural therapies and are conscious of their health and well-being, which is great.
PR: What is your hair clinic all about? Who founded it?
RS: SRS Hair Clinic, a branch of SRS Clinics, was founded by Dr Raj and Claudia Sidhu in 2003, with its Auckland clinic opened in 2011. The practice specialises in the treatment of hair loss and the chronic ailments that may cause hair loss, based on three generations of expertise.
Dr Raj Sidhu, Director of SRS Clinics and accredited Ayurvedic and naturopathic practitioner, works with New Zealanders who struggle with chronic, degenerative and terminal illnesses. He has been practicing for more than 25 years, and from a very young age was involved in the process of making medicines. His grandfather and father used to have him grind up herbs and would teach him about their properties. He was always amazed at how a certain combination of herbs could have such a significant effect on a person’s state of health.
PR: How deeply were you affected by the Christchurch earthquake?
RS: Our clinic premises suffered extensive damage, our firm lost $160,000 worth of stock and the whole place was red-stickered. Additionally, our home in Redcliffs also suffered severe damage - we basically lost our home and business all at once.
As bad as the earthquakes were though, dealing with the aftermath, including insurance and the EQC (Earthquake Commission), was even worse. With people struggling to rebuild their homes and lives, their focus was hardly going to be on their hair; we came to realise that our opportunities as a business lay outside of Christchurch and so we made the tough decision to move up to Auckland.
PR: Was it difficult to set up home and business all over in Auckland?What were the advantages and disadvantages of your experience?
RS: Initially, Claudia and SRS employees came up to Auckland to set up the new clinic. We were quite lucky that we did not have to make any of our staff redundant. In fact, we covered their expenses for nearly six months and brought them all up with us to Auckland.
We invested about $3 million in setting up the new business, including constructing a brand new manufacturing facility/laboratory that is on par and even exceeds our previous standards, as we operate according to strict GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) principles. We had to dig deep as it was all self-funded - the majority went into the lab.
The business has really taken off - people are happy to find a solution that works, and the fact that it is 100 per cent natural, with no side-effects, is hugely important to people.
PR: Do you recall any remarkable case of hair loss that you have helped control/ overcome in any of your clients?
RS: We have an extensive range of clients suffering a range of conditions, including male pattern baldness, female pattern baldness and alopecia areata in men, women and children of all ages. We have treated a number of remarkable cases - not to mention that we have successfully treated people that had previously visited a number of different hair clinics and specialists, all of whom were unable to provide proper treatment for their hair loss problem. We treat each client on a case by case basis - every individual is unique.
Raissa Sidhu, assistant production manager of SRS Hair Clinic, talks about the family’s journey to overcome the aftermath of the Christchurch earthquake which destroyed their home as well as their clinic. The Sidhus rose from the ashes to build a bigger and better business in their new-found home...
Raissa Sidhu, assistant production manager of SRS Hair Clinic, talks about the family’s journey to overcome the aftermath of the Christchurch earthquake which destroyed their home as well as their clinic. The Sidhus rose from the ashes to build a bigger and better business in their new-found home in Auckland.
Paula Ray: Tell us about your journey to New Zealand. Why did you decide to come to this country?
Raissa Sidhu: We, actually, shifted from Europe to Australia initially,for lifestyle reasons.But we couldn’t cope with the extremely hot climate and so had to shift again across the Tasman Sea. We decided on Christchurch out of all cities, and lived quite comfortably there until the Christchurch earthquakes occurred in 2010-2011. We love New Zealand; it’s a beautiful country with lovely people and offers a great lifestyle.
PR: How were the first few years since you emigrated?
RS: There are three of us in the family: My parents Dr Raj Sidhu and Claudia Sidhu, and myself. We did very well in Christchurch. New Zealanders are increasingly embracing natural therapies and are conscious of their health and well-being, which is great.
PR: What is your hair clinic all about? Who founded it?
RS: SRS Hair Clinic, a branch of SRS Clinics, was founded by Dr Raj and Claudia Sidhu in 2003, with its Auckland clinic opened in 2011. The practice specialises in the treatment of hair loss and the chronic ailments that may cause hair loss, based on three generations of expertise.
Dr Raj Sidhu, Director of SRS Clinics and accredited Ayurvedic and naturopathic practitioner, works with New Zealanders who struggle with chronic, degenerative and terminal illnesses. He has been practicing for more than 25 years, and from a very young age was involved in the process of making medicines. His grandfather and father used to have him grind up herbs and would teach him about their properties. He was always amazed at how a certain combination of herbs could have such a significant effect on a person’s state of health.
PR: How deeply were you affected by the Christchurch earthquake?
RS: Our clinic premises suffered extensive damage, our firm lost $160,000 worth of stock and the whole place was red-stickered. Additionally, our home in Redcliffs also suffered severe damage - we basically lost our home and business all at once.
As bad as the earthquakes were though, dealing with the aftermath, including insurance and the EQC (Earthquake Commission), was even worse. With people struggling to rebuild their homes and lives, their focus was hardly going to be on their hair; we came to realise that our opportunities as a business lay outside of Christchurch and so we made the tough decision to move up to Auckland.
PR: Was it difficult to set up home and business all over in Auckland?What were the advantages and disadvantages of your experience?
RS: Initially, Claudia and SRS employees came up to Auckland to set up the new clinic. We were quite lucky that we did not have to make any of our staff redundant. In fact, we covered their expenses for nearly six months and brought them all up with us to Auckland.
We invested about $3 million in setting up the new business, including constructing a brand new manufacturing facility/laboratory that is on par and even exceeds our previous standards, as we operate according to strict GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) principles. We had to dig deep as it was all self-funded - the majority went into the lab.
The business has really taken off - people are happy to find a solution that works, and the fact that it is 100 per cent natural, with no side-effects, is hugely important to people.
PR: Do you recall any remarkable case of hair loss that you have helped control/ overcome in any of your clients?
RS: We have an extensive range of clients suffering a range of conditions, including male pattern baldness, female pattern baldness and alopecia areata in men, women and children of all ages. We have treated a number of remarkable cases - not to mention that we have successfully treated people that had previously visited a number of different hair clinics and specialists, all of whom were unable to provide proper treatment for their hair loss problem. We treat each client on a case by case basis - every individual is unique.
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