Nysaa, a joint venture (JV) between Nykaa with a 55% stake, and Apparel Group, which owns the remaining 45% stake, will open 70 beauty stores over the next five years in Gulf Cooperative Council (GCC), said beauty and fashion online retailer’s executive chairperson, founder and CEO Falguni Nayar on Monday. Both retailers launched their first Nysaa beauty store in Dubai at the beginning of this month.
“Having been an integral part of India’s beauty growth story, we felt it was only right to extend our offering into the GCC retail concept in Dubai this month. With a 56 million population, 54% of which is under the age of 25, GCC is at an interesting juncture where the beauty industry is seeing a boom in e-commerce as a channel appears under-penetrated. Nysaa is looking to expand to 70 stores over the next five years,” Nayyar said while speaking at the Startup Mahakhumbh event.
Nysaa’s first 2,436 square feet store offers a premium selection of international brands including Kylie Cosmetics, Ralph Lauren, Kay Beauty and Foreo. Focusing on personalised service, it features beauty advisors to assist customers and a booth for content creation. Additionally, the omnichannel platform features more than 150 brands and 10,000 products. That apart, at present, Nykaa has 174 physical retail stores and operates the online platforms Nykaa Fashion, Nykaa Man and Superstore, whereas Apparel Group has more than 2,100 retail stores.
Further building on the omni-channel strategy, Nayyar said, “Omni-channel strategy is not merely a business tactic. It is about meeting the consumer where they are and anticipating their needs and exceeding their expectation at every turn. It is about building and fostering loyalty and forging lasting connections and extending far beyond the transactional and to this effect.”
Quoting Nykaaland (its beauty festival which happened last year), she added that the festival turned into one space of creating a platform for consumers to interact directly and in person with brands—where consumers learned about new products and decoded trends and learned about brand’s offering based on brands and brands also got to hear consumers raw feedback and engage meaningfully. “These kinds of experiences truly define the purpose of omnichannel, and I am excited to see what the future holds.” The festival featured over 80 global and local brands, which eventually led to 5.5 billion impressions and over 5000 content pieces created online.
She also highlighted how consumers lean towards offline, driven by convenience, trust, price, and experience. However, she added, they have also begun to view online channels as a viable option in certain categories such as electronics, fashion and beauty, driven by a wide range of products as well as authenticity of the retailer and well-priced offers. D2C is emerging as the solution to shifting omni-channel preference, she remarked.
Nayyar also built on India’s consumption story of beauty. She highlighted that India is where China was 15 years ago. “It is at this critical juncture where we notice a shift in consumption behavior. Given the S curve of expected increase in per capita income from $2500 today to $5500 by 2030 – similar to China’s trends, we anticipate the BPC per capita spend to go from $15 today to $50 by 2030,” she said.
As a reference, Nykaa’s BPC spend is currently $80 vs the country’s average BPC spend of $15. Also, Nykaa Fashion’s current per capita spend is at about $130 versus the average fashion per capita spend of $54. “After electronics, fashion is the second largest category purchased online, and by 2027, it is expected that fashion, grocery and general merchandise will capture two-thirds of the e-commerce market,” she noted.
In her message to young entrepreneurs, Nyyar said, “Success is not measured solely by profit margins or market share. It is measured by the lives you touch, the communities you uplift, and the legacy you leave behind.”