French beauty retailer Sephora aims to have 50 stores in India by 2022

Arvind Fashions, Sephora's master franchisee for India, looks to build its brand portfolio

French beauty retailer Sephora aims to have 50 stores in India by 2022, as part of its effort to acquire a major share in the premium beauty products market in India. Operating through its master franchisee Arvind Fashions since 2015, the LVMH Moet Hannessy Louis Vuitton brand has opened 23 Sephora stores in India so far.

Commenting on the growth plans, Vivek Bali, CEO, Sephora India at Arvind Beauty Brands, stated that since its India entry, the brand has grown with a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 63 per cent and gained a share of 28-30 per cent in the $1.2 billion (roughly Rs 8,600 crore) premium beauty market in the country. 

"We plan to add 6-8 stores every year and eventually reach 50 stores by 2022 as per our target. While the market itself is growing at 18 per cent, we have clocked a CAGR of 63 per cent over the last four years," said Bali.

With a strong emphasis on make-up, skin-care, fragrances, bath and body categories, beauty accessories and haircare, the French global beauty retailer offers a curated assortment of 110 top beauty brands, including Sephora Collection, new brands, beauty classics, cult favourites and emerging brands.

The collections include well-known names in the beauty segment such as Sephora Collection, exclusive brands like Benefit, Makeup Forever, Cover FX, Boscia, Stila, Nudestix, Becca, Foreo, Klara, Beauty Blender, Olive, Burt’s Bees, Caolion, OUAI, Aveda, Smash Box, Percy and Reed, Pixi, Caolion and Anastasia Beverly Hills, among others, which are exclusive to Sephora. 

The store also offers many more beauty brands like Dior, Estee Lauder, Clinique, Givenchy, Shiseido and Clarins as well as global fragrance brands such as Tom Ford, Armani, Ralph Lauren, Burberry, Bulgari and Versace. 

Apart from its flagship stores, the French beauty brand is also available online and exclusively on sephora.nnnow.com, the omni channel e-commerce platform by Arvind Fashions Limited. 

Growth for Sephora would also mean a more diversified portfolio for Arvind Fashions Ltd, which is looking to move away from being a predominantly men's wear player. 

"Going forward, we should become a 50:50 player wherein 50 per cent is men's wear and 50 per cent is other categories put together over the next three years. In the non-men's wear categories, we anticipate women's wear to remain at around 10-12 per cent, with beauty touching 10 per cent and kids' wear touching 10 per cent. Most of the rest are at 5 per cent or touching 10 per cent. In terms of size, however, these categories would be much larger," Arvind Fashions' managing director and chief executive officer J Suresh had earlier told Business Standard. 

Already, from a 80:20 ratio in its men's wear versus other segments three years ago, the newly demerged entity has seen the same shift to 65:35 on the back of a 40-50 per cent growth in kid's wear and innerwear business. Its women's wear category too has seen decent growth so far.

On its part, Arvind Fashions Ltd itself has seen a healthy CAGR of 20 per cent over the last three years, with a turnover of about Rs 4,700 crore in FY19.