A good hair day is perhaps what gives the much-needed boost in confidence in women. And in today’s day and era, that is well taken care of by hair stylists and a bunch of tools. Taking a cue from this age-old trend, Philips India has introduced another hair styling product ‘Philips Hair Straightener with NourishCare Technology’. “Our newly launched product is a breakthrough technology in India, which proudly is a ‘Made in India’ and ‘Made for India’ product. The straightener doesn’t damage the hair as it comes with a couple of brackets and serum strip, due to which heat doesn’t deposit on the hair,” Deepali Agarwal, business head- personal health, Philips Indian Subcontinent, told BrandWagon Online.
The Indian haircare and styling products market size is estimated at $5.85 billion in 2024 and is expected to reach $8.93 billion by 2029, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.80% during the forecast period (2024-2029), as per the business intelligence, Mordor Intelligence. Additionally, the market is full of players including brands such as Vega, Havells, Dyson, and Morphy Richards, among others, with a starting price range of around Rs 800. “Philips is privileged to lead the market share in the hair care category. For us, it is not about challenging the market with the introduction of a new product but it is about empowering women to embrace hair styling and straightening more fearlessly as the biggest obstacle lies in the fear of damaging the hair. We are trying to take away that fear with this new technology,” Agarwal noted. As per the latest offering comes with a serum enriched with vitamin E and Moroccan oil.
The company’s revenue from operations increased 4.61% to Rs 5,734 crore in FY23 from Rs 5,481 crore in FY22, as per the RoC filings accessed by business intelligence platform, Tofler. While the company’s profit after tax (PAT) declined 2.22% to Rs 260 crore in FY23 from Rs 265 crore in FY22. Interestingly, the company decreased its advertising and marketing expenses 7.43% to Rs 154 crore in FY23 from Rs 166 crore in FY24. The company, which follows a mixed media strategy, refused to provide further details on its advertising and marketing strategy.
The company launched the product in four variants, named BHS526/00, BHS507/40 BHS503/40 and BHS522/00 at a price range of Rs 3,795 and
Rs 3,145, respectively. “With this new launch, we aim to cater for the demand of women lying in the age group of 15-40 years of age,” Agarwal added. Moreover, it is claimed to be a pan-India launch and will be available across segments including e-commerce websites such as Amazon and Flipkart, retail stores and the company’s D2C platform.
Additionally, the company launched a TVC ‘No heat damage. Just gorgeous, straight hair’, with the brand ambassador Alia Bhatt. Furthermore, the company has planned to take the route of influencer marketing on social media. “We had a blogger engagement at the product launch where we are creating an experience of the product for bloggers to understand how this works and how it is superior. Going forward, we will use a multimedia channel approach in a combination of offline and online media, content creation and partnerships to strengthen the awareness. We also have plans to work with campus ambassadors,” she said.
According to the company, due to more digitally connected audience irrespective of age, social media is a place to explore and discover, but that alone is not sufficient. “Ours is a bit broader audience, there is a need to create mass awareness to stay top of mind, which is where there needs to be a balance between content, conversation and engagement, which means a balance of television-led advertising and that’s how we are looking at the talent acquisition plan,” Agarwal added.