Manipal Cure and Care (MCC), the Bengaluru-based health and wellness centre, launched its first retail health and wellness outlet in Bengaluru.
“We see a huge opportunity in the health and wellness segment to extend our leadership in healthcare and healthcare education to the booming retail sector. We will offer evidence-based preventive, wellness and beauty solutions in a friendly retail environment. We plan to open 50 centres by 2011, and will look at further expansion in the Indian and global markets through a franchise model under the sub-brands Mask, Smile, Xpresscare & Foot Solutions as well as our private labels,” Ranjan Pai, CEO and chariman, Manipal Education and Medical Group, told Indiaretailing during the launch.
The 10,500 square feet outlet was opened at the upmarket Koramangala. Meanwhile, another centre is due to start at Total Mall later in the year. Started in January 2007, with an initial investment of Rs 50 crore, MCC opened its first centre in Ahmedabad in August. It plans to have a total of ten centres in Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Pune and Vadodora.
The seven-day MCC centres have consultant doctors in general medicine, dermatology, dentistry, paediatrics, gynaecology, ophthalmology, endocrinology and lab medicine, among others. MCC plans to introduce over 4,00 leading product lines from across the world, including cosmeceuticals and nutraceuticals validated and made at FDA-approved plants.
Somnath Das, COO, MCC, said, “MCC has a four-pronged strategy to introduce this concept of health and wellness in India. Our differentiators are the introduction of new products every 90 days and technologically advanced services every 180 days. We have instituted protocols and processes along international best practices and a staff trained by the Oscar Murphy Institute.”
Anil Kumble, Indian Test Cricket Captain, dedicated the centre to the citizens of Bangalore. Dermalogica, the world’s No.1 professional skin-care brand, was launched at the MCC centre by Gibson G Vedamani, CEO, Retailers Association of India.
Wellness and preventive medicine is expected to exceed 1.5 trillion USD by 2010 in the United States alone, but is yet to be seriously looked at in India.
– Vishnu Rageev R, Bengaluru Bureau
