The Body Shop to treble its Indian business by the end of 2025.
India is now among the fastest growing market for UK’s beauty products company The Body Shop, thanks to a young population and growing middle class, Qas Qayyum, global franchise managing director of The Body Shop, who oversees 65 countries, said.
“We are doubling the India business by end-2025, both in smaller cities as well as metros. India is among our top five markets in terms of annual sales now, which gives us the confidence to push for further growth,” he said, on a recent India visit, his first to the country.
The Body Shop has 200 existing stores in India, and it plans to add another 100 stores by 2025.
Qayyum said the company is also pushing its e-comm business which is now 25% of its annual sales, compared to 10% pre-covid, adding that the company is adapting an omni-channel approach.
“Digital is growing dramatically, but retail has a very important role as well. We see consumers flocking to our stores,” he said.
Globally, as in India, The Body Shop operates on a franchise model through its local partner Quest Retail.
The Anita Roddick-founded beauty company will have all its products certified by the Vegan Society by the end of 2023.
According to global consumer research firm Statista, India was the fourth biggest beauty and personal care market globally in terms of revenue in 2021. The Indian beauty and personal care market are expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 6.5 per cent in the period between 2022-2027, the researcher said.
Apart from bigger companies such as Unilever, Procter & Gamble and L’Oreal, there is a flux of other players such as Revlon, Mama Earth, Sugar, Lotus Herbals and MyGlamm pushing sales either through stores, multi-brand platforms like Nykaa, or their own direct-to-consumer channels.
The Tata group is also setting up premium beauty stores while Reliance Retail is in advanced talks to acquire rights for LVMH-owned beauty retailer Sephora in India from Arvind Fashions.
