Nykaa offers a combination of over 2400 domestic, international, luxury, prestige, premium, niche, and cult beauty brands with 100% authenticity certificates
New Delhi: Founded in April 2012 by former managing director of Kotak Mahindra Capital Company Falguni Nayar, Nykaa is a digital-first omni-channel beauty platform and chain.
Considered as India’s largest omni-channel beauty destination, Nykaa offers a combination of over 2400 domestic, international, luxury, prestige, premium, niche, and cult beauty brands with 100% authenticity certificates and expert advice and videos, along with a beauty helpline for its consumers. The platform specializes in multiple categories, including skincare, hair care, bath and body, fragrance, grooming appliances, personal care, health and wellness.
According to the omni-channel company’s website, its name is derived from the Sanskrit word ‘Nayaka’ meaning actress or one in the spotlight, which defines its aim of ‘celebrating the star in each woman.’ Nykaa’s founder Nayar says, “Retail is all about detail,” and with that belief she leads a team of over 1000 employees across eight offices in Mumbai and Delhi.
Apart from its initial beauty platform, i.e. Nykaa, the company expanded its operations by introducing more segments, including Nykaa Fashion and Nykaa Man in 2018.
In 2015, Nykaa opened its first brick-and-mortar store in Mumbai, and since then, it has expanded to over 100 stores across the country. Apart from this, it has also launched a chain of its own luxury beauty stores under the name Nykaa Luxe, according to a media website.
In 2021, the beauty platform went public and got listed on the country’s stock exchanges.
Today, the same platform accounts for 38% of the online beauty and personal care market in India, according to a report by Images Group, Fynd, PWC and Strategy&. In second quarter of fiscal year (FY) 2023, it reported a 45% year-over-over growth in gross merchandise value (GMV) to clock Rs. 23,457 million and its revenue from operations grew 39% year-over-year to Rs 12,308 million in the same quarter, according to a media website.
Here’s how Nykaa captured a lion’s share of the online beauty and personal care market in India –
1. Assuring product and review authenticity: Every product listed on the website mentions that Nykaa is an authorized seller. Research firms like Ventura, Motilal Oswal, ICICI appreciate Nykaa’s unique inventory model: Buying from Nykaa assures that products are 100% genuine.
2. Offering easy trials to understand how a colour looks: It gives consumers an option to pick a trial-sized product and later get a coupon to buy the final product. The platform is also using artificial intelligence (AI) to offer trials, now consumers can virtually try different lipstick shades.
3. Building a community by achieving consumer’s trust: It offers a loyalty program with different stages in the user’s journey. It has built a community by offering live influencer sessions, making it India’s first beauty user forum to hit 3.6 million users, according to Axis Capital.
According to media reports, Nykaa has also signed a few major partnerships in the recent years, including:
1. Partnership with Estee Lauder Group of Companies to launch Beauty & You in India with an aim to identify and support the next generation of beauty entrepreneurs in India with a non-equity grant and mentorship.
2. Partnership with Priyanka Chopra Jonas to bring Anomaly, her hair care brand to India across Nykaa.com and Nykaa stores.
3. Partnership with HUL to launch its new science-based skin care brand, ‘Acne Squad’ exclusively at Nykaa.
4. Partnership with Apparel Group to undertake an omni-channel, multi-branded retail operation business in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in October 2022.
In addition to strengthening its alliances, Nykaa also worked on bolstering its leadership. It recently on-boarded several new senior leaders across different departments including technology, finance, business and marketing for its next phase of growth.
