BeYu’s Second Coming in India
German premium colour-cosmetic brand, BeYu from the ARTDECO group, is set for its second coming in India. Sascha Reinhard, Managing Partner, BeYu along with Ajay Ghooli, MD, Kaunis speak about the expansion plans.
What brings you to India?
Sascha: I believe this is the right time to re-launch BeYu in India as the disposable incomes of the growing middle- class is much higher than it was nearly a decade ago. The market at that time wasn’t ready. Consumer behaviour along with self-confidence and self-consumption in the middle class is gradually rising. I have always believed in the potential of India market. This time, we have partnered with Kaunis to build our India footprint and will be available in 1,000 stores in the next 2 years. We plan to launch 300 stores by end of FY 2017-18. Out of these, BeYu will launch 20 company owned and 280 shop-in-shop stores.
Any learnings from the past?
Sascha: The market along with the consumer behaviour has changed completely and we have to cater to the modern trade in India that still exists.
How are you representing the brand in India?
Ajay: We have used 50% of the revenue in the investment of new stores. By the end of this year BeYu plans to have approximately 300 stores across cities including Mumbai, Delhi, Lucknow, Kanpur, Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Pune, Nagpur, Ahmedabad, Baroda, Surat, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Kolkata.
With about 200 plus beauty advisors, our retailer relationship has made quick entry and we plan to have a dedicated team to skill train using ESOP progammes. We have extensively used technology in sales wherein the team will report sales through a tab which will help keep a substantial database of customers. So it’s building a relationship with the customer in terms of beauty advisory, trust and brand recall.
What is the growth in the market?
Ajay: The beauty market in India is about Rs 45000 crore market out of which colour cosmetic is around 10%. India holds the promise of being one of the fastest growing beauty markets. The demand for premium beauty brands is growing and hence there is tremendous potential for cosmetic brands to enter and grow in India. We plan to bring in Makeup Factory brand in October and Anny, a nailpolish brand in January 2018. Kaunis has tied up with retail chains including New U, Lifestyle, Health & Glow and Central to make the products available to the market.
What is the philosophy behind the brand?
Sascha: BeYu is the short form of ‘Be Yourself’ and it is all about being yourself because everyone is unique. The products are paraben and fragrance free, dermatologically tested and are not tested on animals. BeYu plans to launch a special set of make-up items to suit the Indian skin tones, and these will be available in stores by the year end.
How are your products priced?
Sascha: Our price-points are affordable starting at a price of ₹750. We along with Kaunis have implemented strategic plans that cover all spheres of business from distribution, sales, marketing, pricing to logistics, manpower, operations and imports.
