A collapsed beauty salon in Adelaide has issued what its owners describe as a "Hail Mary" appeal to the very competitors it once fought for market share, according to a report by Adelaide Now.

The outlet reports the failed salon business is now asking former industry rivals to step in — an unusual move in a sector where closures typically end in liquidation with creditors left unpaid and staff dispersed.

No details on the salon's name, its debts, its lease position or the number of employees affected were included in the available report. Adelaide Now did not specify what form of assistance the owners are seeking — whether a buyout of the business, a takeover of the lease, or an arrangement covering staff and existing client books.

Approaching competitors after a collapse runs counter to standard practice in Australian salon ownership, where commission-based and booth-rental operators more commonly wind down quietly or sell through brokers. A direct public appeal to rivals suggests the owners see little value left in the business as a going concern but hope another operator may want the fit-out, the location or the client list.

Adelaide Now frames the plea as a last-ditch effort, implying that conventional rescue avenues — refinancing, sale, or a formal insolvency administration — have been exhausted or are unavailable.

Whether any competing salon owner in the Adelaide market responds to the appeal remains to be seen; the outcome will test how much goodwill, and how much commercial appetite, exists between rivals in a tightening local beauty sector.