DARE - Because Entrepreneurs Do

Cutting edge beauty technologies have made it possible for the rich and the image-conscious to buy a new face at lunchtime. Vikalp Dubey met Clinic Dermatech’s VP Rajesh Singh to learn more.

When and how did you start up?
Through our parent company Interkardio we were already supplying various medical instruments and machineries including the ones used in skin care. We realized the potential that the  skin care business holds, so we decided to take the plunge. Our first clinic came up in 2005 in New Delhi.

What is the cost of setting up a new clinic?
We have two types of outlet format: the city-hub and city-satellite. The initial investment we made is around Rs 3-4cr for city-hub format and around Rs 1 -1.5 Cr for City satellite outlet.

What makes the beauty business tick today?
Appearance plays a major role in the lives of people, both personally and professionally. A great self-image is today a necessity, not a luxury and with rising income more people can afford it now. At Clinic Dermatech, as our tag line says, we ask people to Live Powerfully. That is a bold line and is in tune with the demands of the time.

What’s a typical client profile?
It is majorly Sec A, A+, A++ segment of society. The gender ratio is typically 70 per cent women and 30 per cent men. Individuals with deep pockets and a desire to stay attractive throughout their lives forms the majority of our client base.

How expensive are your treatments and which are the most popular ones?
We have a range of solutions which start at Rs 499/- and go up to Rs 2 lakh. Some of the most popular treatments are Unwanted Hair Reduction and Anti Aging.

Who are your key competitors and what gives you the edge over competition?
In the organized sector our main competitors are KAYA and VLCC. Clinic Dermatech is an ISO 9001: 2008 certified clinic. We are fully automated and rely only on proven technologies. Technology is the differentiator between us and others. All our technologies are USFD approved. We offer multiple solutions to skin care and go for personalized approach which is unique.

The initial investment is around Rs 3-4 Cr for city-hub format and around Rs 1-1.5 Cr for City satellite outlet.

How are you doing?
We are growing very fast. At Clinic Dermatech, we are seeing a growth rate of 150 per cent pa. We have a base of more than 20,000 customers in Delhi alone. We have five clinics in Delhi- NCR and are opening three more in the next five months. We have plans to expand to other cities as well.

What are your expansion plans?
We aim to invest Rs 100 crores in the next five years to open clinics across metros and A-class cities using franchises. We are also preparing to launch a skin care product range under brand name CIEL which means Sky in French.

Any stumbling blocks?
Mainly two: one is that Indian women have traditionally sourced their beauty and skin-care solutions from within their homes. These are simply not enough to battle the severely polluted environs we live in. Educating them on the importance of harnessing clinically proven technologies has been a challenge. Secondly, unorganized small players who lack proper expertise and the right technology often lure the less aware.

So, how have you dealt with these challenges?
We have kept our goal very simple:  to ensure that every consumer walks out of the clinic happy. Now this is very easy and very tough at the same time, and it all depends on how you implement it. We focus on convincing people to come for a single experiential session and then there you go; all their doubts become self explanatory. This approach helps us dealing with both challenges as people realize the beauty of technology and importance of quality. We use advertising as a tool to educate,  convince and convert the consumer and for this we usually implement 360 degree execution strategy for any campaign. The budget that we allocate is somewhere around 10 per cent of the projected turnover.

Skin care still seems to be a luxurious segment which is not for middle class. What do you have to say about it?
This is not entirely true as we have a customer base in the middle income group also. We have introduced special services for them at just Rs 499/- which are not very costly. However, apart from the pricing, the result that a consumer gets after this service is any time comparable to the high end services available in the market costing between Rs 4000-5000/-.

Next >