Boycotted Peckham hair shop set to close down
A Black hair and cosmetics shop that was boycotted after a video showed a Black female customer allegedly being 'strangled' by its former manager is now closing down, new management says
The Source Exclusive: Boycotted Peckham hair shop set to close down
Protests were held outside the shop after the former South Asian manager allegedly strangled a Black female customer during a refund dispute.
STORY BY MELISSA SIGODO
MARCH 19, 2026
A Black hair and beauty supply shop that was boycotted after a video showed the-then manager allegedly strangling a customer is now set to close down, new management says.
Peckham Hair and Cosmetics now known as Kings and Queens Beauty Supplies in London was at the centre of a viral video in 2023 which showed the then-manager Sohail Sindho and a 31-year-old Black female customer in a refund dispute.
After the manager refused to allow the customer to give back her goods in exchange for money, in footage captured, she was then seen attempting to leave the shop with items in her hand before he prevented her from exiting.
Following a scuffle between the pair, the tense confrontation escalated and the former manager was then filmed allegedly strangling the customer while forcing her back into the shop.
Police were then called to the incident and the woman was arrested while Sohail was interviewed under caution. Following an investigation, the Metropolitan police says both were later told they would face no further action.
But now, two years since the video went viral sparking protests, calls to boycott the business and accusations of racism against the the former manager - the hair shop will now be closing down due to ‘low sales and rising rates’, new management has told The Source.
Speaking to The Source, Haris who says he has been managing the shop since December 2024 said:
“The business is very quiet. It's very quiet. We can't handle the rates and everything. It's not like before so it was decided to close it.
“The boycott affected the sales particularly for the first, four, five months, when [the previous manager] was in charge. But when we took charge the customer flow was okay. But after last Christmas and winter, it was very quiet. No customers. It's not only us, it's everywhere. There is another shop, three shops down from us, that's also closed down. And another one, they are also trying to sell the shop. Business is not like it was before in Peckham”
Haris says Kings and Queens is set to close in five to six weeks once they sell their stock.
But local resident, Natalie Worgs who boycotted the shop believes that community action is the reason the business’s sales were low and even though the management changed, she says many people ‘did not want to associate with the shop.’
The community outreach worker and researcher says that the closure of Kings and Queens now sends a “clear message” on how to treat Black customers.
Speaking to The Source, Natalie said: “It sends a clear message to the others that they need to stay in line and get in line.
“If we’re not going in there and spending then they can’t feed their families and do all the rest of it because they’re highly dependent on us to go in there and spend our money.
“So, I think it sends a clear message now to the rest of Rye Lane.”
Haris says that the previous manager left the business due to customers frequently coming in to “scold” him over the alleged strangling incident.
Natalie who moved to Peckham 20 years ago from Birmingham recalled how the local community gathered outside the shop in protest over the former manager’s alleged actions and how people “weren’t going to stand for it.”
Natalie said: “Literally the very next day, the whole community came out.
“They had to close the shop and everything. Everyone was writing a note and putting it on the shutters. We had loads of people.
“Even after it happened, it still went on for about two weeks where people were outside protesting, campaigning, giving out [names of places] where we could go and support Black businesses that are providing our hair products.”
The Source contacted the London Trading Standards Authority for an update on their investigation into the shop’s no refund policy but they did not provide a comment.
As well as calls for a boycott, the incident sparked conversations around the need for Black people to own hair shops and for money to be spent within the Black community.
According to a 2020 report by the British Business Bank, Alone Together: Entrepreneurship and Diversity in the UK, only 39 percent of Black entrepreneurs have their loan applications approved compared to 67 percent of white entrepreneurs.
The research also found that Asian and other ethnic minority entrepreneurs have better outcomes than Black entrepreneurs.
Natalie said: “There’s just a known history as well, that our community is the fastest [when it comes to spending] outside of our community. It never really seems that we have much basically.
“We are not selling towards our own. It’s as simple as that. If we were selling to our own at reasonable prices, I think we would see more of us.”