On the face of it I shouldn’t have even been in the cosmetic industry. Imagine a chartered accountant, with years of experience in tax planning, financial accounting, pensions, portfolio management and so on, dabbling in skin care and that too with laser!
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| Parichay Upadhyay |
Yet, here I was in the thick of a cosmetic business and loving every minute of the work I was doing. We opened our flagship store, named New Look Cosmetic Skin Laser Clinic (now a national brand) in 1997 in Mumbai and since then it has been one incredible journey.
I wouldn’t like to exchange this experience for anything in the world. Surprisingly enough, my being a CA has served only to enhance my experience.
Within two years of our entry into the business, we opened outlets in Delhi, Bangalore and Kolkata. Today there are 19 New Look centres, spread across the country, from Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkatta and Bangalore to Jaipur, Indore and Dehradun. Most of this expansion has been fuelled by internal accruals or funding.
With the increasingly appearance-conscious middle-class recognizing laser treatments as being among the most effective means of skin care the market size itself has grown at a fast clip. Alongside there has never been any dearth of people wanting to invest in this fast-growing business segment; a number of investors offered to ride with us. As a result we have set up our centres in many cities like Bangalore, Noida, Ahmadabad and Mumbai as joint ventures.
Given the enthusiastic response thus far and the fact that there is still a huge market left to be tapped, we have no doubts that we will grow rapidly in the years to come. We plan to grow both jointly with other players and through the franchise route.
The two big challenges we faced when we set off were in the areas of acquiring the right technology and skilled manpower. When we entered the market, laser technology was still new in India and there was as a result a massive opportunity beckoning us. We could clearly see the advantage of being the first to introduce advanced beauty treatment in such a market. However, since we were into a very specialized niche that was focussed on providing unique treatment involving advanced technology, staffing turned out to be a daunting task.
Although we have always had a strong training procedure in place, retaining staff was still a problem given that most of them were women bound to family commitments. Among our successful retention strategies has been to generously reward staff that had spent significant time with us and had as a result acquired the necessary technical knowhow.
However, as we are expanding fast, the opportunities for professionals are growing all the time. In general terms too, the wellness industry is growing in India at an impressive 15 per cent year on year.
| Snapshot |
| Name: Parichay Upadhyay Age: 37 Education: Chartered Accountant Experience in business: 15 years Leadership style: Delegating work, works. Big learning: In service industry, customer satisfaction and contentment is the most important factor, for which the owner should continuously strive for, especially when your venture turns into a brand. |
| Factsheet |
| Name: New Look Cosmetic Skin Laser Center Domain: Cosmetic Laser Skin Care Service Industry Turnover: 10 crores Set up in: 1997 Employees: 150 Headquarters: New Delhi Website: www.newlooklaserclinic.com |
| Business Model |
| Operates through 18 centers pan India, offering treatments for various hair & skin ailments and cosmetic treatments, botox fillers, dental cosmetic treatment, hair transplant, liposuction etc, through advance laser and other machines. |
Since the beginning, we saw the health and wellness industry to be among the most promising in India, a belief that has been borne out over years. Today, the industry is worth 12000 crore and growing, reason why there are so many players entering the turf. The job opportunities in this industry are massive.
However, since we were among the first entrants in the high technology end of the market, it was possible for us to establish an edge. So far we have catered to more than 300,000 and that number is obviously growing even as you read this.
Initially, yes there were obstacles, since laser was something people were not very familiar with. We, therefore, had to expend a great deal of time educating the market. Other than that we ensured that the standards of service remained uncompromisingly high. It is for this reason that getting the right people has always been a key factor in our business. But over years we have evolved systems that help us get the people we want.
Apart from problems relating to sourcing the right technology and reaching out to minds of people, we have fortunately not faced any major hurdle so far. All our 19 centres are doing well and this is a proof of the fact that the ride thus far has been relatively smooth.
I would say that this being a service industry, the behaviour and conduct of staff assume the greatest importance. I can only say that determination and persistence along with hard work are the key to success. I manage time and change with a positive attitude, right strategy and adaptability.
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