...or so it appeared. But the plan was not entirely ‘little’ we discovered
Indian eves have been enticing players from across
the world to bet big on the Rs.450 billion Indian FMCG industry. That’s not-so-obvious. But then, only a woman can understand a woman better and that’s the obvious! And cashing-in on this standard rule is Hina Nagarajan, Country Manager of Mary Kay Cosmetics Pvt. Ltd., the US-based company that forayed into India late last year. The company has taken select markets in India by storm in a span of just six months. In such a short breath, through its unique direct selling model, they have roped in over 2000 women dealers. Like other now-successful multi-level-marketing companies, this one too steers clear of the retailing strategy, but with other cosmetics player growing from big to bigger, the question of Mary Kay’s continued success does arise. But, with its unique game plan, this personal care player isn’t oblivious to the threats and consequences, and is willing to play hardball with the Goliaths of the tournament. In conversation with 4Ps B&M, Hina Nagarajan shares future strategies for the Indian market.
How is Mary Kay’s positioning unique vis-รก-vis competition?
We do follow the multi-level marketing (MLM) model, but we are very different from them in terms of selling. In MLM, the dealer benefits when he brings in other dealers and consumption is mainly limited for private purpose. But in case of ours, we believe more in direct selling and the dealer earns margins from a sale while adding another dealer.
What is your target segment?
We are focussing on sections of society which can afford luxurious skincare products. We are a company run by women, for women. Also, like many players, we never claim falsely – become our member & your life will change. We don’t promise a makeover in seven days too!
Some lines on your retail plans...
We won’t follow the regular retail outlets model as we believe that none except our members can sell our product. Also, if we follow the retail model, we would be killing the business of one woman. Considering that 200 women join our organisation every month, we don’t want to kill their business.
What are your offerings?
The whole skin care market is worth Rs.16 billion in India and a very high growth-potential segment is the anti-aging market which is worth only Rs.500 million today. Thus, our specialty will be anti-aging offerings. But we have a wide product portfolio addressing all the needs of women. Besides, we will also launch our own salons alongwith men’s products.
Isn’t pricing a ‘bottleneck’ when you want fat-growth in India?
Though our prices are premium, they lie at the bottom of premium skin-care prices. Then again there is the fact that we are telling consumers that a small bottle of ours lasts longer then any other product available. Our sales team are also being educated to change consumer behavior. Its all about addressing it from the consumer point of view and then price can act as a barrier.
What are Mary Kay’s future plans for the Indian market?
Right now, we have a presence in Northern India but we will have a pan-India presence by the end of this year. We plan to invest more on beauty salons and for funds to do so, we have full support of our parent company.
For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article
Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008
Indian eves have been enticing players from across
the world to bet big on the Rs.450 billion Indian FMCG industry. That’s not-so-obvious. But then, only a woman can understand a woman better and that’s the obvious! And cashing-in on this standard rule is Hina Nagarajan, Country Manager of Mary Kay Cosmetics Pvt. Ltd., the US-based company that forayed into India late last year. The company has taken select markets in India by storm in a span of just six months. In such a short breath, through its unique direct selling model, they have roped in over 2000 women dealers. Like other now-successful multi-level-marketing companies, this one too steers clear of the retailing strategy, but with other cosmetics player growing from big to bigger, the question of Mary Kay’s continued success does arise. But, with its unique game plan, this personal care player isn’t oblivious to the threats and consequences, and is willing to play hardball with the Goliaths of the tournament. In conversation with 4Ps B&M, Hina Nagarajan shares future strategies for the Indian market.How is Mary Kay’s positioning unique vis-รก-vis competition?
We do follow the multi-level marketing (MLM) model, but we are very different from them in terms of selling. In MLM, the dealer benefits when he brings in other dealers and consumption is mainly limited for private purpose. But in case of ours, we believe more in direct selling and the dealer earns margins from a sale while adding another dealer.
What is your target segment?
We are focussing on sections of society which can afford luxurious skincare products. We are a company run by women, for women. Also, like many players, we never claim falsely – become our member & your life will change. We don’t promise a makeover in seven days too!
Some lines on your retail plans...
We won’t follow the regular retail outlets model as we believe that none except our members can sell our product. Also, if we follow the retail model, we would be killing the business of one woman. Considering that 200 women join our organisation every month, we don’t want to kill their business.
What are your offerings?
The whole skin care market is worth Rs.16 billion in India and a very high growth-potential segment is the anti-aging market which is worth only Rs.500 million today. Thus, our specialty will be anti-aging offerings. But we have a wide product portfolio addressing all the needs of women. Besides, we will also launch our own salons alongwith men’s products.
Isn’t pricing a ‘bottleneck’ when you want fat-growth in India?
Though our prices are premium, they lie at the bottom of premium skin-care prices. Then again there is the fact that we are telling consumers that a small bottle of ours lasts longer then any other product available. Our sales team are also being educated to change consumer behavior. Its all about addressing it from the consumer point of view and then price can act as a barrier.
What are Mary Kay’s future plans for the Indian market?
Right now, we have a presence in Northern India but we will have a pan-India presence by the end of this year. We plan to invest more on beauty salons and for funds to do so, we have full support of our parent company.
For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article
Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008
& Brand Development, SREI Infrastructure Finance, comments to 4Ps B&M, “The infrastructure sector in India is growing at a phenomenal pace and will require huge financial resources to maintain the tempo. With the government’s focus increasingly switching to the PPP mode, where more and more funding of projects will have to come from private routes, the obvious need is to increase the avenues of funds, and that too at competitive rates. Our association with BNP Paribas will help us access more funds at relatively cheaper rates, which will not only improve our strike rate in the infrastructure sector, but improve working margins as well. Also, the association will give us access to better systems.”
rope-a-dope than aggressive sell. Then, late last year, Sony rolled out a series of aggressive television ads that elegantly tied together Sony Blu-ray content with the players - Lance Ulanoff
Ernst & Young, KPMG). “We have no ambitions of wanting to be a part of that group. Our focus is quite different from the focus of those firms, which is to be the auditors of the top 1000 companies. Our focus is to concentrate on the mid-market segment,” explains Chandiok. Besides, GT’s focus clearly remains on privately-held businesses or promoter driven companies, where the promoters require solutions; it could be listed, it could be unlisted, very large firms, generally where promoters are actively involved in the management and where the requirement stems beyond merely the compliance requirement of audit. This is in stark contrast to other accounting firms that are present through the length and breadth of the industry. “Whatever market we specialise in, we remain the leading firm. So, if in India our key focus areas are technology, real estate and healthcare, we are the clear leader in real estate,” Chandiok points out.
offer on February 1, 2008) and proposes to raise Rs.7000 crores from the market. To create a buzz around its corporate image, the realty major has been promoting itself aggressively by sponsoring cricket tournaments (starting with the T-20 World Cup), billboards and sundry TV spots. Even companies peddling average sized IPOs – like that of infrastructure firm IRB, which proposes to raise Rs.11 billion from its IPO opening on 31st January 2008 – are investing big money in their marketing communications. Result: more retail investors are being drawn irrevocably toward the primary market and enquiries for opening new accounts have increased significantly. A middle level sales manager at ShareKhan on the condition of anonymity reveals: “On an average, we are opening 10-15% more accounts than our usual number of openings per month and more than 80% of these new accounts apply in IPOs.”