Dr Batra's looks beyond homoeopathy

Leading homoeopathy clinic chain Dr Batra’s which has recently diversified into personal care, and cosmetic enhancement segments, expects about 50 per cent of its turnover to come from segments apart from homoeopathy in the coming five years.

Aaras Vasa, chief operating officer of Dr Batra's Positive Health Clinic Pvt Ltd said that the group has floated different companies for foraying into these segments; Dr Batra's Aesthetic Solutions Pvt Ltd (for hair and skin solutions through plastic surgeons etc), Dr Batra's Positive Health Products Ltd ( for personal care products), Dr Batra's Pet Care (for India's first veterinary hospital using alternative medicines), Dr Batra's Media (publishing books and magazines) etc.

“At the moment, homoeopathy contributes to around 78 per cent of our turnover, which was Rs 200 crore in FY15. Personal care and aesthetic solutions contribute 11 per cent each, however, they are clocking huge growth rates of around 100 per cent,” Vasa said. The company is targeting to touch a turnover of Rs 300 crore in FY16, and plans to double the number of international clinics to eight by the end of the fiscal. It currently operates 200 clinics across India and four international clinics.

On the whole, Dr Batra's is hoping to touch a turnover of Rs 1000 crore by 2020, and by then a significant share of the turnover would come from segments like personal care and aesthetic solutions.

It is planning to invest Rs 100 crore over the next three years to fuel this growth. As Vasa claimed, the company is already expanding the capacity at its Palgadh manufacturing facility in Maharashtra by three-fold by enhancing automation. It would run out of capacity at the unit which makes personal care products within the next six to eight months, and is also in the lookout for a location to set up a new facility.

Meanwhile, for the personal care segment, it would cover 20,000 stores in modern trade by the end of this year from a current 6,500 stores.