India is seen as a profitable market for players in the beauty and wellness industry to expand their business with high quality products and services in spas and salons  With significant growth in disposable income of the urban class, India has witnessed an increase in the general standard of living. Alongside the acceptance level of the importance of grooming and wellness has increased as well. Consumers are now on a quest for a holistic and harmonious state of life, which has led to mushrooming of various industries. The beauty and wellness industry is one such sector that has been on an uptrend. As per data from Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry and Ernst and Young, the beauty market, also under wellness industry is pegged at Rs 4,010 crore and the rejuvenation market at Rs 250 crore.
Awareness about expectations from products and services has been rising in the retail market. In the beauty business, this translates into a whole new line of products coming at all price range. With high growth rate in the beauty and wellness industry, the market offers extensive opportunities to both domestic and foreign players. This is precisely the reason behind foreign players choosing India to expand their base.
There is a distinct shift from beauty salons to spas that offer holistic experience to consumers. With the high level of interest in this sector and more awareness, the market right now is in the transitional phase, from being fragmented to organised. The task of organising this sector has been taken up by organised international players so that more and more quality services and products can reach discerning consumers.
However, the industry is also facing several challenges. The lack of trained workforce, stigma attached to the profession, narrow base of equipment suppliers, lack of exposure to spa operations of international standards and the fact that India has not been positioned as a wellness destination have been some major bottlenecks for the beauty and wellness industry. However, these could be turned into opportunities as the market has huge potential and consumers are ready to be a part of this growth story.
Developments in the industry
Corporatisation is the key for further growth in the industry. There are organised business units such as MAC, L’Oreal and Jean-Claude Biguine, among others, which are witnessing huge potential in the Indian market at present, requiring the right kind of training centres to elevate the level of professionalism. With this move, it will be easier to generate the right kind of talent pool, which in turn will make this sector more acceptable as a profession and a serious line of business. The presence of such business units in this phase makes it imperative for getting the industry more organised.
We entered the Indian markets in 2008 with a flagship store in Mumbai and within 2 years, we managed to open our own chain of salons across Mumbai and Bengaluru. Another strategic move to corporatise this industry, we have a tie-up with the Aditya Birla Group in its luxury retail foray ‘The Collective’, which offers consumers a feel of beauty as well as shopping, giving more organised services to shoppers.
Investment in terms of time, capital and energy are sure to take this sector to new highs. This transition stage is sure to lead to a complete makeover in the beauty industry.
Dharmendra Manwani, CEO of Jean-Claude Biguine, Mumbai, India |
