Mumbai: Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd., one of India’s leading multimedia companies, today announced its plans to enter the beauty segment with its legacy brand – Femina. The company has formed a new division (Times Lifestyle Enterprise) that will launch Femina FLAUNT into the beauty salon segment.
Sandeep Dahiya (Director – Brand Extensions, BCCL) has been appointed the CEO of the new entity, and would be responsible for exploring and driving growth for the venture, while continuing to lead Brand Extensions at BCCL. Further, the company has roped-in Dinesh Bhat (formerly with Unilever India) as the COO for the venture. Dinesh will report into Sandeep.The company plans to open its first unisex COCO (company-owned, company-operated) Studio Salon in Mumbai within the first half of 2019.
Announcing the development, Mr. Vineet Jain, Managing Director – the Times Group, said, “Our entry into the beauty segment is in line with the group’s philosophy of continuing to invest in newer and future growth opportunities. We have many legacy brands within the group, like Femina, Filmfare and Miss India, amongst others, and this venture would explore relevant, sustainable and scalable business models around these brands in the retail & lifestyle space.”
Speaking about the venture, Sandeep Dahiya, CEO – Times Lifestyle Enterprise & Director – Brand Extension, BCCL, said, “Beauty is an exciting, and a rapidly growing category in India, and we’re confident of making a significant impact in this category through differentiated service offering, personalized consumer engagement, and best-in-class brand alliances. He further added, “The venture will follow a hybrid model of growth in this segment, starting with COCO salons, and simultaneously expanding through a robust franchise program, to create a footprint of over 100 salons in the first 5 years.”
The entry in the salon segment, follows Femina FLAUNT’s successful foray into the consumer products space with Shoppers Stop in 2015, across core fashion categories. Femina FLAUNT is already available across 6 categories – apparel, footwear, handbags, accessories, fragrances & eyewear. The brand is today available in more than 60 Shoppers Stop stores, across India and in over 300 eyewear stores.
