Nykaa is a market leader and a preferred destination for online beauty and wellness products in India.
With almost 400 curated, well priced and 100% genuine brands and 35,000 products, Nykaa prides itself on offering a comprehensive selection of cosmetics, skincare, haircare, fragrances, bath and body, luxury and wellness products for women and men.
STORY OF WOMEN BEHIND NYKAA
Nykaa.com was founded in 2012 by Falguni Nayar, former managing director of Kotak Mahindra Capital Company. Since then, Nykaa has become a popular brand in the eCommerce & Retail Industry.
“Falguni saw that there was a huge opportunity in the online space and considering all the different areas she could invest in or start a company, she focused on beauty” – Nihir Parikh, Chief Business Officer at Nykaa.
Nykaa has grown strength to strength over years; they have always focussed on customer needs and worked closely with its brands to achieve the desired results.
Sachin Parikh, CFO, Nykaa said “The only advice I can give to startups is to focus on sustainable growth. You know, I can spend a lot of money, acquire the customers, get a certain level of growth but if the customers are not coming back or the growth is not sustainable, you are not going to achieve the targets so make sure you get to sustainable growth.”
From last year to this year, Nykaa has grown by about 350% and this year onwards they are going to grow on other 300%. Today they are running at about 600 crore run rate and have got very aggressive targets, which they are assured to achieve.
Drawing inspiration from entrepreneurs like Ronnie Screwvala of UTV and Ajay Bijli of PVR Cinemas, she headquartered her company in Mumbai, where she was born and brought up. Seeing her father run a small bearings business, she knew she had it in her to become an entrepreneur. Stock market and trade were a common discussion in her house during the growing years. “Plus, I am a Gujarati,” she said in an interview to Livemint.
While the idea and the dream to be an entrepreneur lived inside her, Nykaa happened when Falguni Nayar had some spare time on her hands, after her children (twins Anchit and Adwaita) left for their studies to the US. With a deadline of 50 (which was self-imposed), the one woman army took a leap of faith and quit her job at Kotak, “where everything was going right,” she mentioned to Livemint. “I’m an adventurer,” she says. “I was never a good swimmer but I would always be the first to jump in. The thought, what if I break a leg?, doesn’t occur to me,” she further added.
Her love for make-up to which she says, “I love make-up but I don’t have time to put it on any more!” and laughs loudly, along with the instinct that India needs an online platform for cosmetics and wellness, drove her. Bridging the gap and changing the way women shop, she has successfully curated more than 850 brands and 35,000 products. The company also has its presence in many cities with 17 stores across India. There are two store formats – Nykaa Luxe and Nyka On Trend. Luxe has Indian and international beauty brands along with Nykaa Beauty, the in-house beauty products collection, and On Trend is a collection of popular market products.
The young yet super successful online beauty company has a target audience in the age group of 22 – 35, and has also launched private labeled products in the bath and body care category, in March 2016. Working in an inventory based model, Nykaa has warehouses in Mumbai, New Delhi and Bangalore, and offers all leading brands including Kaya Skin Clinic, Lakmé, L’Oréal Paris and more.
Falguni Nayar Nykaa has now become a singular identity in the market. The brand’s association with its founder is deeply engraved everywhere and is a result of the passion she had for her dream. Naykaa, derived from Nayika, which means the actress of one’s life, is certainly the perfect name to beautify and inspire women at the same time. Kudos to the brand, and to the woman who never stops working and exceeds her own expectations.