Nykaa plans to triple retail stores: CEO

Nayar declined to give a timeline for the rollout but said the company was targeting 100 cities, adding to the 84 retail outlets it already operates in 40 cities.

“The process of store expansion had slowed down due to (COVID-19) pandemic for a year or so,” Nayar said on Wednesday. “But this year we have revived our store rollout.”

Though Nykaa largely operates as an e-commerce platform selling everything from global cosmetic brands to jewellery, Nayar said the physical stores, targeting Indian consumers wanting to buy touch-and-feel products, were a critical part of the business. Despite rapid growth of e-commerce and the likes of Amazon.com in India’s near $900 billion retail market, most shoppers still buy products offline. Nykaa has said it is targeting a sub-segment of that sector - the $70 billion beauty, personal care and fashion market. Like many other retailers, Nykaa was hit hard by the pandemic as work-from-home rules reduced demand for office wear, cosmetics and shoes. Last month, it reported a 96% slump in quarterly profit. But things are looking brighter as the COVID-19 pandemic eases, and India’s festive and wedding season gains pace.

“Clearly there is a revival in make-up (products) which was pre-pandemic,” said Nayar, a 58-year-old former investment banker. Nykaa, which sources many products from Europe, is also focussing on ramping up exports of its own private brands to the UK and the Middle East.