Falguni Nayar, the founder of Nykaa, is creating a stir with her business acumen and her passion for work. She became the first self-made Indian founder of a unicorn startup. Falguni Nayar started Nykaa in the year 2012 and within a decade; she has grown her business multifold.
Nykaa Highlights
Nykaa is an e-commerce marketplace where you can buy beauty products, health & wellness products, and fashion products (though the company entered the fashion business recently). Nykaa initially started as an online-only mode but soon adopted omnichannel for selling products in its gamut.
Brand Portfolio at Nykaa: A Glimpse
Nykaa is not merely a beauty retail outlet, but it is more of a beauty destination. At this store, you will find domestic brands, international brands, luxurious brands, premium brands, niche brands, cult brands, etc. If we talk about figures, there are over 2400 brands under Nykaa’s umbrella. Makeup, skin, hair care, bath & body, health & wellness, men’s grooming, fragrance, etc. are some sectors handled by this Indian retailer. The company launched Nykaa Fashion to take care of the fashion segment of the business. The products offered by Nykaa are available on several platforms at reasonable prices. You can also get great discounts and amazing deals while purchasing products from Nykaa.
If we talk about the offline business, the company operates in three different formats, and each of these formats caters to different business niches. The brand portfolio within each of these formats is also different. The three formats are:
Nykaa Luxe: This format features some of the premium international brands and the in-house brands of Nykaa. Some brands that you can find here are Huda Beauty, Givenchy, MAC, etc. In fact, Nykaa is one of the rare retailers in India, where you can find some of the most premium brands, like Charlotte Tilbury, Becca, Sigma, Murad, Limecrime, etc.
Nykaa On Trend: All the products & brands that trend on the online store of Nykaa are available at Nykaa on Trend stores of Nykaa and other reputed platforms at a discounted price. Some examples of the brands that you can find at these stores are Kama Ayurveda, Maybelline New York, Kaya, Calvin Klein, Davidoff, The Face Shop, and the private label Nykaa. Not only this, the platform has even started to deliver the products in cardboard boxes which are indeed good for the environment.
Nykaa Beauty Kiosk: These kiosks are comparatively smaller-sized outlets, where people can browse through the company’s selected offerings and make a purchase. You will find Nykaa’s private labels, like Nykaa Naturals and Nykaa cosmetics, at Nykaa kiosks.
Apparel Group Highlights
Apparel Group is a conglomerate working in the retail space; it features some of the known international lifestyle & fashion brands in its retail outlets. This group is headed by Mrs. Sima Ganwani Ved and she has strategic plans to expand her business within emerging markets like Egypt, Pakistan, Hungry, etc. There are over 1900 outlets of the Apparel Group and all these outlets feature over 75 fashion & lifestyle brands originating in the USA, Europe, Canada, Australia, and Asia.
Brand Portfolio of Apparel Group: A Glimpse
- Fashion: Aeropostale, Austin Reed, Calvin Klein, Tommy Jeans, Levi’s, Tommy Hilfiger, etc.
- Footwear: Aldo, CHARLES & KEITH, Crocs, Nine West, Skechers, Hush Puppies, etc.
- Cosmetics: Inglot, Rituals, Nessa, etc.
Apart from these sectors, Apparel Group is also into other sectors like the department store, entertainment, F&B, kids, accessories, and malls. These stores can help you get fashion products at discounted prices.
The Gulf Alliance
After proving her mettle on her home ground, Falguni Nayar is now planning to enter the UAE region and has already advanced her steps in that direction. Nykaa has entered an alliance with Apparel Group.
Nykaa will benefit immensely from the huge offline stores’ network of the Apparel Group. Nykaa will also benefit from Apparel Group’s experience and deep market relationships; it will help the Indian retailer to create a product portfolio that is specific to the GCC market. Currently, Nykaa will start off its business by targeting 6 major GCC regions:
- The United Arab Emirates
- Sultanate of Oman
- The Kingdom of Bahrain
- The State of Qatar
- Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
- The State of Kuwait
As far as the business structure is concerned, the two groups will form a new & separate entity to run their alliance business in the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council. Falguni Nayar will hold the majority stake in this entity (about 55%) and the Apparel Group will hold the rest. They will incorporate this entity into Abu Dhabi and will majority focus on building a multi-brand beauty business. It will again work in an omnichannel format.
Conclusion
In an interview, Falguni Nayar said that the consumption of branded beauty products is quite high in the GCC region and this move will definitely help Nykaa increase its foothold in the Gulf region.
