Keeping up with the growing trend of the Salon business in India, leading European Skincare brand Mary Cohr is making its foray into the country by investing over Rs.35 crores (over $4.9 million).
The brand has a presence in over 60 countries across the world, including the US, Russia, UK, Germany, Spain and Japan.
"India is a huge market and with its young demography, incremental disposable incomes and an overall shift towards a healthier lifestyle, it made for an opportune time to enter the market," Vandini Gupta, Vice President of Lloyds Luxuries, who is leading Mary Cohr in India, told Sputnik in an interview.
She said that their expansion plans with Mary Cohr in India are centred around the franchise model.
"We plan to focus our primary efforts in 5 large cities - Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad - for the next 12 months. We will be targeting growth through our relationships with our existing franchise network as well as looking at new partners who have a similar vision and belief in the brand.
"Low penetration levels and surging demand from non-metro cities serve as huge growth opportunities. Hence, once proof of concept has been laid, we aim to expand into tier two and three cities rapidly," she said.
According to brand market survey, there are six to seven billion salons in India, with women contributing to more than 85 per cent of the overall industry revenues. In terms of non-surgical procedures, India was ranked sixth with total facial rejuvenation share being 44 per cent.
Another critical attribute is product and service transformation using disruptive technologies and thereby building brand value in the market.
"Our average investment in each outlet is approximately 70 lakhs (seven million rupees or $98,750) depending on the size of the outlet and the location. Over the next three years, we aim at having 45-50 stores between corporate-owned and franchised stores. Thus a total investment into the brand in India of roughly above 35 Crore," the Lloyds Luxuries' vice-president in India further said.
Lloyds Luxuries has the master franchise of the oldest barbershop in the world --Truefitt& Hill.
"From what started as a complete unheard concept in India, we now have 25 outlets of Truefitt & Hill across 13 plus cities. We felt it was time to expand our brand portfolio and we're looking to enter into the women's beauty segment," she said.
"Throughout the country, women's beauty is combined along with hair in salons, and not paid thorough attention."
"We found that there was no large, organized player in the natural beauty segment, so we intend on bringing a high-quality service experience, with a high-quality product to standardize a relatively unorganized market and educate the customers on long term, sustainable beauty goals," the Lloyds Luxuries' vice-president in India added.