India (Commonwealth Union)_ According to a corporate document and a person familiar with its strategy, India’s Tata Group is preparing to construct at least 20 ‘beauty tech’ stores where it would utilize virtual cosmetics kiosks and digital skin tests to convince young, wealthy customers to buy high-end cosmetic items.
With this move, Tata, whose business interests range from jewelry to automobiles, will compete with LVMH’s Sephora and a domestic rival, Nykaa, for a piece of India’s rapidly expanding $16 billion beauty and personal care market. The document cites The Honest Company, Ellis Brooklyn, and Gallinee as potential partners and describes Tata’s target market as an “Indian beauty enthusiast” between the ages of 18 and 45 who enjoys purchasing foreign brands like Estee Lauder’s M.A.C. and Bobbi Brown.
The person familiar with the strategy, who did not mention any specific brands, claimed that Tata is in discussions with more than two dozen businesses to supply exclusive products to the new stores. Tata declined to comment on the information in the document that Reuters saw regarding its planned beauty stores. Requests for comment from The Honest Company, Ellis Brooklyn, and Gallinee representatives went unanswered.
The secretive store opening plans come in the wake of Tata’s recently released Tata CLiQ Palette beauty shopping app. According to a Tata document, the stores’ bright red facades will display the Tata CLiQ Palette logo, and 70% of the items inside will be skincare and cosmetics. The document revealed that the multinational conglomerate intends to install technology inside the stores that will allow customers to virtually try on a variety of lipstick shades on screens and receive digital skin analyses to determine which products might work best for them. Despite being much smaller than China’s $92 billion beauty and personal care market, India’s $16 billion market is predicted to grow on average 7% annually over the next few years, according to market research firm Euromonitor.
