BeYu: Plans to Open Over 300 Stores by End of FY- 17
Founded in 2016, Kaunis is a PE-backed organization impassioned about developing effective strategies for the entry of world-class brands into the Indian beauty market. With a vision to become a one-of-its-kind service provider to international brands, Kaunis aspires to become a leading player in the business of beauty in India.
Kaunis, headed by Ajay Ghooli, will act as an anchor for International brands in the Indian beauty market by devising and implementing strategic plans that cover all spheres of its businesses: Distribution, Sales & Marketing, Logistics, Manpower, Operations, – and define the roadmap ahead for their development and growth. The team takes ownership for all aspects of building the brands in the Indian market. The first in the stable is , a leading color cosmetic brand from Germany.
BW Disrupt spoke to Ajay Ghooli, Managing Director, Kaunis Marketing Services Pvt. Ltd to know more about his future plans with the company BeYu-
Q1. Please share the journey from inception to till now.
Ans – In my 22 years of corporate career, I had been associated with key brands like LÓreal, Maybelline, Garnier and Lakme. My corporate stint in the beauty segment gave me the opportunity to understand the nuances of beauty business and helped me enhance my expertise in this arena.
In last few years, the beauty industry has seen gaps in terms of consumer centricity, product quality, service levels and retailer engagement and I believe to address these issues have become a need of an hour.
I founded Kaunis in early 2016, with the aim of building a platform for international brands to build their business in India. Kaunis will just not bring brands in India but will take end to end responsibility to establish the brand in the very competitive Indian market.
From operational to strategic- which means from researching consumer needs to building referring consumers, we will take care of the entire business spectrum.
Q2. How was it started?
Ans – Kaunis was formed to address the gaps which has been observed in the last few years in the Indian beauty industry. It started with a vision of building a platform for international brands to build their business in India.
Having worked under distinct roles which includes sales & distribution, counter operations, marketing, and operation management; I wished to form a common platform which can provide all these expertise to international brands who are wanting to come in India and hence be the most trusted gateway partner.
Kaunis’s strength lies in its people and their expertise. I have ensured to bring in the best talent in the system; a pool of talent which is well- versed with the nuances and dynamics of the Indian beauty market and are extremely capable of handling the operations and challenges in the most efficient manner.
Q3. Share your unique key feature/services, how is it different from existing ones?
Ans – Brilliant retailer relationships has helped us gain entry into the top stores of the country. As I mentioned that Kaunis’s strength lies in it’s people hence we have given the beauty advisors their rightful place by making them a part of the organization. Technology; not only to track stock and sales but also to engage with the customer will help redefine the beauty market.
Q4. What is your current funding status and monetization model?
Ans – Kaunis is a PE backed organization that has committed to continuously invest in the organization to build growth in distribution and help increase productivity and efficiency along with the core management team.
Kaunis wants to develop the platform to relevant brands build their India proposition, hence we would look at adding multiple brands in the future.
We are a B2C FMCG company and our business model is similar to those in this sector. As of now we are in over 100 counters and are expanding rapidly.
Q5. Tell us about the future plans and market size & opportunity?
Ans – We plan to get to approx 300 stores by the year end. With the increase of social media usage in the country, we will be aggressively present on the digital platforms and will also focus to give consumer experience at the store level.
Apart from print in leading magazines, emphasis on on-ground activities will also be a part of our marketing strategy.
In India the beauty business in approx. INR 45,000 crore of which color cosmetics is between 10-12% and is growing faster than the rest of the market.
While the premium end is the smaller segment, it is extremely discerning in terms of quality & services. It is the most lucrative and fastest growing segment across all the beauty category
