NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FASHION TECHNOLOGY

PANCHKULA, HARYANA

Department of Fashion Management

END-TERM ASSIGNMENT

Submitted To:

Dr. A. Srinivas Rao

Subject: Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Business Practices

Submitted by:

Anjali Khandelwal- MFM/21/382

Jasleen Kaur- MFM/21/355

Kanika Bansal- MFM/21/501

Srishti Kansal- MFM/21/342

 Acknowledgement

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to our teacher (Dr. A.

Srinivas Rao) who gave us the golden opportunity to do this insightful

assignment on Entrepreneurship, which helped us learn in depth about

the topic.

During the process of making this report and studying about the

company and entrepreneur, we came across so many new learnings

and indeed had an enlightened experience. We are thankful to you.

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 INDEX
S.NO. TOPICS

1. Company description

2. History of the Brand

3. Nykaa Business model

4. Products & Services

5. How is Nykaa making beauty sustainable

6. Journey Towards success, sustainability and stability

7. Falguni Nayar

8. Entrepreneur tips

9. Qualities identified in the entrepreneur

10. Nykaa strong stock market debut

11. Nykaa online beauty business

12. Marketing Mix of Nykaa

13. How can Nykaa be more sustainable

14. References

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 Company Description

Industry E-commerce

Headquarters Mumbai, Maharashtra

Founded April 2012; 9 years ago

Founder Falguni Nayar

Website Nykaa.com

The brand name Nykaa is derived from the Sanskrit word nayaka,
meaning actress or "one in the spotlight" Nykaa is an Indian e-
commerce company, founded by Falguni Nayar in 2012 and
headquartered in Mumbai. It sells beauty, wellness and fashion
products across websites, mobile apps and 76 offline stores. Nykaa has
35 physical stores/outlets categorized under two formats namely Nykaa
on Trend and Nykaa Luxe.

With over 2500+ brands, 5 lakhs+ products and delivery all across India,
nykaa strives to be the one-stop-shop for a consumer. they retail only
100% authentic products sourced directly from brands (a rarity in the
market!) and provide a superior delivery experience - all reinforcing a
deep commitment to the customer. Nykaa Fashion is focused on being
‘high on style’ with a carefully curated collection of 450+ designers
across clothing, accessories and footwear, to appeal to every woman.
Nykaa Man is India's first multi-brand ecommerce store dedicated to
men’s grooming Apart from retailing, Nykaa strives to provide advice
through its various platforms, like the Beauty Book (bi-monthly
magazine), Nykaa Network - A community of millions of beauty and

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fashion enthusiasts across India, Nykaa TV - its YouTube channel which
engages an audience of over 1 million.

In 2020, it became the first Indian unicorn start-up headed by a woman.

Nykaa sells products which are manufactured in India as well as
internationally.

MISSION AND VISION

Mission: To create a world where our consumers have access to a

finely curated, authentic assortment of products and services that
delight and elevate the human spirit.

Vision: Bring inspiration and joy to people, everywhere, every day.

NYKAA - TAGLINE, SLOGAN AND LOGO

The brand name 'Nykaa' is derived from the word 'nayaka', which
means 'one in the spotlight' in Sanskrit.

The company's tagline is 'Your Beauty, Our Passion'. There was a

partnership between Nykaa and Peanut Butter as a result of which
generated another slogan, 'Beauty Anytime, anywhere'.

The brand color was very carefully chosen because the brand targets
the ladies and red, and pink would perfectly reflect a modern girl's flaws
and vibrancy.

BRAND VALUES

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 History of The Brand

The website was first launched around Diwali 2012 and was available
commercially in 2013. In 2015, the company expanded from online-only
to an Omni channel model and began selling fashion products. In 2018,
the company launched Nykaa Man, India's first multi-brand ecommerce
store for men's grooming. The company expanded into fashion by
launching Nykaa Design Studio, which was renamed to Nykaa Fashion.
In 2020, Nykaa launched Nykaa PRO. It is a premium membership
program that provides users special access to professional beauty
products and offers via the Nykaa App. In Dec 2020, Nykaa Fashion
launched its first store in Delhi, making the fashion business Omni
channel.

 Nykaa Business Model (Analysis)

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Nykaa is one of the rare companies which follow an Inventory based E-
commerce model.

Inventory Model:

• The company stores the stock of goods purchased directly from

manufacturers.

• They store the products in their warehouses.

• Nykaa’s business has warehouses in New Delhi, Mumbai and

Bangalore.

• The products are sold directly from there.

In this, the profit margin is high. The responsibility of any damage lies
with the company. They achieved their breakeven after 5 years of
operations. Initially, the cost to acquire a customer was Rs. 1000 which
has now reduced to Rs.200-300.Nykaa has its offline presence in 35
stores.

Presently Nykaa has its stores in three formats namely Luxe, On Trend,
and Kiosks. With the Nykaa On Trend items being confined to trending
and fashionable brands, Nykaa’s Luxe stores feature more premium
and luxury brands such as Estee Lauder, Dior, Huda Beauty, and M.A.C
Cosmetics as well as a range of others.

Aside from women's beauty, the platform also holds a range of

grooming items for men listed on the Nykaa Man website and app and
also on Nykaa Network, which is an online community for beauty
enthusiasts. As of now the company is a firm believer in sticking to the
vertical marketplace.

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 Products and Services

Nykaa brings you the all new range of beauty products at your
doorstep!

Nykaa has a series of in-house brands within beauty and fashion. Some
of them are Nykaa Naturals, Nykaa Cosmetics, Kay Beauty.

Nykaa cosmetic top brands are Maybelline New York, Lakme, Nykaa
Cosmetics, The Face Shop, L'Oreal Paris, Huda Beauty, NYX Professional
Makeup, Makeup Revolution, SUGAR, Tresemme

In 2015, Nykaa launched its collection of in-house beauty products via

Nykaa Cosmetics and later expanded it across categories of Eyes, Nails,
Face, Lips. In early 2019, the brand launched its Wanderlust Bath &
Body collection, and later in the year introduced a beauty line with the
iconic designer Masaba Gupta, Masaba by Nykaa.

Nykaa Fashion online shopping store is India’s one of the finest and the
best online shopping destinations for men and women. Being a host to
a wide array of lifestyle and fashion brands, Nykaa Fashion retails an

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extensive range of fashion apparels, accessories footwear and more for
men and women from over 500 plus international brands like Vero,
Only, Aeropostale, Gap, Puma, Adidas, Forever New, American Eagle,
etc. and Indian designers like Tarun Tahiliani, Ritu Kumar, Varun Bahl,
Masaba, etc.

Nykaa offers from fashion clothing for day to day use to occasion-ready
clothes for special festivities and wedding occasions, Nykaa Fashion
online clothing store has got it all for you.

Shop latest collections apparels, accessories and more for women

online at nykaa fashion-

Shopping online for women’s clothing, footwear, jewellery, handbags,

etc. From trendy ethnic wear for women to fashion-forward
contemporary and fusion wear collections for women. Browse through
the latest collections of footwear for women from renowned brands
like Metro, Mochi, Birkenstock, Paio, Preet Kaur, Twenty Dresses, Sole
Head and many more.

Discover wide collections of women’s bags like tote bags, satchel bags,
sling bags, cross-body bags, shopper bags and more. From summer
dresses, jumpsuits, skirts, shorts and more to winter sweaters,
sweatshirts, coats, jackets and more, find the latest and the best of
western wear collections online at Nykaa Fashion. Get your hands on
the latest Indian wear collections and ready to wear dresses, gowns,
salwar suits, kurtas and kurtis, sarees, lehengas and more when online
shopping for women at Nykaa Fashion.

fashion-forward menswear collection online at nykaa fashion-

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At Nykaa Fashion online shopping store, you will find a myriad of
options for men online ranging from casual shirts, trousers, etc. to
formal suits, blazers, shoes and more. On your online men’s clothing
shopping journey at Nykaa Fashion, discover fashion-forward
collections from brands like Peter England, Arrow, GAP, American Eagle,
Louis Philippe and many more suited for all your casual, semi-casual
and formal needs. Explore the latest range on men’s footwear
collections ranging from formal pairs like dress shoes, brogues, oxfords,
loafers and more to athletic sneakers, sporty shoes, casual kicks and
more from the comfort of your home and office with the Nykaa Fashion
online shopping app. Whether you are online shopping for men for
men’s bags, belts, wallets, sunglasses, etc. or men’s athletic apparels
and accessories, Nykaa Fashion online shopping store is sure to be your
one-stop destination for all.

SERVICES

Nykaa follows an inventory-based model with warehouses in Mumbai,

New Delhi, Pune, Haryana, Kolkata and Bangalore. In 2020, in addition
to its primary ecommerce business, it has an offline presence via 76
brick-and-mortar stores across the country. It claims to have over
200,000 products across 2,000 brands.

It has three offline store formats called Nykaa Luxe, Nykaa On Trend
and Nykaa beauty Kiosks. The Luxe format features international luxury
beauty brands such as Huda Beauty, MAC, Dior, and Givenchy along
with Nykaa Beauty, the in-house collection of beauty products. The
Nykaa On Trend format has products curated by category basis their
popularity. In India, Nykaa is the only retailer that sells international
brands like e.l.f, Charlotte Tilbury, Tonymoly, Becca, Sigma, Limecrime,
Dermalogica, and Murad.

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 How is nykaa making beauty sustainable?
Nykaa says since everyone is going green Remembering, small, even
seemingly paltry, changes to your beauty routine can have a HUGE
impact on the environment and our planet. A recent Nielsen study
reported that 22 percent of Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (like food
and toiletries) sold in 2018 had some sustainable attributes, slated to
climb to 25 percent by 2021. And it's us, who are driving this change,
the vast majority saying they are willing to pay more for sustainable,
makeup & cosmetic products.

Also, they say that it's high time, we start, considering there are 25
trillion pieces of plastic debris floating in the ocean. All those tubes, jars
and packets that we discard so mindlessly every day. Let’s start by
saying shopping consciously, with sustainability in mind, doesn't mean
making major sacrifices to your beauty routine.

Keeping this in mind they have created a sustainability edit.

The Sustainability Edit specially crafted initiatives across the website

and app helps drive awareness, propagate change as well as engage
consumers via compelling conversations around sustainable fashion.

Here, they show us how to practice a sustainable beauty routine and a

sustainable makeover.

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(A screenshot of the web page of nykaa beauty where they suggest the
ways to follow sustainability)

How nykaa is bringing a new era of sustainable fashion.

In this day and age when one can't ignore the impact of fashion on the
environment, one of India's leading fashion platforms, Nykaa Fashion,
focuses on sustainability. The brand presents a special edit featuring a
mix of sustainability-focused labels from across established as well as

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 upcoming fashion brands. This carefully curated list represents the
advocates of eco-friendly, "good" fashion, while staying true to the
three R's 'Reduce, Reuse, Recycle'.

The list of Mindful Labels includes brands like GAYA, Doodlage, Khara
Kapas, GUR, Dobby, Kaarpas Kanelle, Taro, Maati by Neha Kabra, Koyi
Taro, Bohame, Mishe, A Humming Way, Urvashi Kaur, Kanelle, Okhai,
Koyi Taro, Pozruh, Merakus, Satva and accessories labels like Paio
Shoes, Dhaaga Handicrafts, Modern Myth, The Cai Store, The Slow
Studio, Dhaaga Handcrafts.

According to Adwaita Nayar, CEO Nykaa Fashion and Founding Team

Member Nykaa, "At Nykaa Fashion, being conscious about the choices
we make and promote is a continuous, everyday effort. We would like
to simplify the idea of sustainability for our consumers by decoding the
myths surrounding ethical fashion and making it more accessible to
them, while also aiding the discovery of new and mindful labels on our
platform."

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  Adwaita Nayar's Journey Towards Success,

Sustainability and Stability

Adwaita Nayar started her entrepreneurial journey at the age of 21.

One of the founding members of e-comm giant Nykaa and daughter of
Nykaa’s CEO, Falguni Nayar, she has been instrumental in making
Nykaa one of the industry leaders in the ecommerce space

Adwaita is also responsible for the brand’s physical presence around

the country, having executed the opening of 30 retail stores before

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moving to Nykaa Fashion. And she’s all set to make it big there too! The
confident risk-taker gets candid about working with her mother, her
own business acumen, and crucial lessons she’s learned so far.

On building a sustainable relationship with work Adwaita quotes-

There are two parts to it—first is that, fundamentally, the business is

your own. It’s deeply intertwined in our lives. The conversation at the
dinner table is always about work. I think, to an extent, we will never
have that divide between work and life. It’s a blessing to be able to pour
your heart and soul into it. But you need to have a sustainable
relationship with your work, because, if you are trying to run it for
decades to come, you cannot afford to get burnt out.

In my first few years, I was not able to strike that balance. The lows of
work were the lows of my life, and the highs translated to the highs of
my personal life. I’ve worked on that in the last six years and, now, it’s
different. I’ve learned from my mother that not every issue has to be
solved immediately. What we are building is long-term so, if something
is broken today, it will get fixed in the days to come.

The second big change in me is that I put a lot of effort into not reacting
immediately. As the leader of a large business, I get a lot of input from
my team, both good and bad. I try to absorb the information, listen
more, think over it, and not react impulsively.

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 Profile of Falguni Nayar, CEO, Nykaa

Falguni Nayar, born and raised in a Gujarati family, is a graduate of the

Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. Her father ran a small
bearings company. Before starting Nykaa, Nayar worked with Kotak
Mahindra Capital, where she was the managing director and head of its
institutional equities business.

After graduating from IIM, Ahmedabad, Falguni Nayar spent 19 years

working as an investment banker with the Kotak Mahindra group. In
2005, she took over as the Managing Director of the investment
banking business post which she spearheaded the firm. It was in the
year 2012 that she decided to take the huge leap of faith, by quitting
her job at the age of 50 and embarking on an entrepreneurial journey.
She was quick to discern that beauty was an untapped market in India

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and was on the way to experiencing an explosion. As for her interest in
business, she drew strength from entrepreneurial giants like Ronnie
Screwvala of UTV and Ajay Bijli of PVR Cinemas. Their confidence and
readiness to take risks in life inspired her a lot.

Nykaa was founded in 2012 and the idea came to her when she started
feeling confident and empowered at being guided through the right
way of using beauty products and being told which are the right
products to be used. She got this experience at multi-brand beauty
stores like Sephora, and Falguni, in spite of not being a regular
consumer of beauty products, felt attracted to buy those worth
hundreds of dollars owing to the right guidance. She felt the need to
replicate this India. She also wanted the women of India to feel
empowered.

“I wanted to replicate that in India — a multi-brand retailer selling the

best beauty, plus a lot of education to help customers...I wanted to
stand for those women who want to be beautiful for themselves, not
for men or other women. Indian women were ready for that and that's
why they related to Nykaa. It was a type of empowerment.”- Falguni
Nayar

Falguni stresses on the need for women to come out of their shells and
be confident about handling both professional and personal lives with
equal panache. She says that if a woman with strong determination and
will power aims to do something, she will definitely achieve it.

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India’s wealthiest self-made woman billionaire has proved that gender,
age, background, and education are no bar to become an
entrepreneur.

“Any entrepreneurship needs a lot of passion, hard work, conviction,

and time. When I started, if I thought I would be here in three years or
five years, it wouldn’t happen. It needs long innings. Somehow, I was
very clear that I would need 10 years plus, and that is why I started
before I turned 50” she said in an interview with Money Control.

 4 Entrepreneurship Tips by Falguni Nayar

1. Gain your customer’s trust

“Besides curating a great product offering, we strongly focus on
building customer trust. We make sure that we always deliver on our
promises and work very hard to offer genuine products. This has
allowed us to launch our Nykaa private label collection because the
customer knows that our products are high-performing and well-
priced.”

2. Focus on building a community

“Just by observing the industry as a consumer, I realised that education
is an important part of selling premium beauty. A consumer is more
likely to buy something if they have understood its benefits, ingredients
etc. So, from the beginning, Nykaa decided to focus on delivering this

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information through creative content. We went against popular belief
and put content all over the site to build value for the customer. It’s
something that helped in the long run because now we know we can
keep a customer engaged even if they visit our site multiple times
before purchasing anything.”

3. Be smart about your money

“I believe that the amount of spends, whether on marketing or business
building should be in line with the size of the market. A lot of Indian
start-ups tend to spend much more than what it justifies. For example,
Uber created a new market by using new technologies. They succeeded
because they could judge the underlying demand and need for their
product. Many start-ups don’t do that; they create great products
however their marketing spends commensurate with that cost of
business development and that’s too high compared to the market
size.”

4. Remember, you’re not the first one facing this problem

“[During tough situations] I look very hard for comparisons, case
studies and go deep into reading and researching that subject. I also
discuss my thoughts with the colleagues and mentors whose views I
trust. Based on those inputs, I make the right decision.”

 Qualities identified in the entrepreneur

 Raised with an entrepreneurial instinct
Nayar was born and raised in Mumbai, where her father ran a
small bearings company, assisted by her mother. The household
chatter revolved around investments, the stock market and trade.

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 “Plus, I’m Gujarati," she deadpans. Entrepreneurship is in 
her blood.

 Risk taker
When all the naysayers (and there were plenty) said India wasn’t
ready for an e-tailer selling, of all things, beauty products, Nayar
chose not to see the risks. Instinctively, she knew what women
wanted. And she knew the number of Indians shopping online
was about to explode.

 Ability to identify correct opportunity

According to the company, it receives 15,000 orders a day, mostly
from consumers between the ages of 22 and 35, who have
disposable income and an interest in good grooming. The main
reason for shopping at Nykaa is accessibility.

 Never Giving up Attitude

“Enough" and “done" aren’t words in Nayar’s business vocabulary,
she never stops, even when she has exceeded expectations. Once
Nykaa had established itself as a multi-brand beauty retailer,
Nayar decided to tweak the business model by introducing her
own brand, Nykaa, in 2015. 

 Strategist
“It was a response to gaps in the market," she explains. The
beauty salon she frequented did not stock the popular OPI nail-
polish range she liked. “They would have four colours of one
brand, some from another. The whole experience was terrible,"

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 she says. Research showed that part of the problem was with
Indian import regulations, which made registering new colours a
lengthy and tedious process. Nayar realized a domestic
manufacturer didn’t need to go through that process, so if she
made nail enamels, she could get them to the market quickly. The
strategy worked. Nykaa’s own nail colours sell 8-10 times more
than the next best-selling nail brand on its website. 

 Enthusiastic
When asked, Why did she name the company Nykaa? “Because
nayika means you are the actress of your life," she says, smiling. I
have no doubt Nayar is relishing her current role.

 Determined
Nayar stresses the need for women to come out of their shells
and be confident about handling both professional and personal
lives with equal panache. She says that if a woman with strong
determination and will power aims to do something, she will
definitely achieve it

 Dynamic
Doing a complex business empowered by technology. Falguni has
opened her mind to welcoming new trends and technologies

 Appreciable work culture

Falguni believes an organization should have a long term
collective journey with all the stakeholders namely employees,
consumers and vendors. Falguni has successfully built an amazing
work culture that adds value and achieves progress. 

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  Nykaa’s Strong Stock Market Debut

Nykaa is among a few profitable local start-ups that are launching IPOs.
It reported a net profit of Rs 61.96 crore in FY21 from a net loss of Rs
16.34 crore the year before. Revenue grew 38% to Rs 2,453 crore in
FY21. 

Nykaa is looking to raise Rs 630 crore from its IPO by issuing fresh
shares and the rest through an offer for sale, in which existing investors
will sell up to 41.97 million shares, according to its red herring
prospectus(RHP).

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Founder Falguni Nayar and her family will continue to own a majority
stake even after the IPO. Currently, Nayar and husband Sanjay as well
as their two children hold more than 53% in FSN E-Commerce Ventures,
the parent firm of Nykaa.

The company has appointed investment banks including Kotak

Mahindra Capital, BofA Securities, ICICI Securities, Citibank, Morgan
Stanley and JM Financial to manage its public issue. 

“The company plans to further expand its omni-channel capabilities by

launching more owned stores. We will invest in the Nykaa-owned brand
portfolio and will also look at overseas expansion mainly through
international exports but will also look at a joint venture or acquisition
to enter certain markets,” Nayar said. For international expansion, it is
eyeing the Middle East and exploring an entry into the UK and Europe,
she added.

According to the company’s management, it is targeting a total

addressable market of around $152 billion. “We believe the penetration
of online shopping customers of the total customer base is expected to
increase to 24% from the current 11-13%,” Nayar said.

The company claims to have 40% gross margins and a fulfilment cost as
low as 10%. It has a cumulative transacting customer base of 13
million. 

The Sanjay Nayar Family Trust, a promoter, will sell up to 4.8 million
shares in the IPO. 

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  How did Nykaa revolutionise online beauty business?

 During COVID-19, most businesses were wrecked. But, all the

beauty shoppers had an option, and that was Nykaa. Nykaa keeps
on delivering products with discounts and offers and. Nykaa
generated revenue of $247 million in march 2020, and it expects
to report a 40% rise in its revenue for the year ending March 2021
thanks to its marketing efforts during the pandemic.
Another milestone that Nykaa is prepping itself for is an IPO this
year, which’s expected to value around $3 billion.

 Furthermore, after Nykaa’s funding round, which is expected to

end in March, it is suspected that its Founder Falguni Nayar makes
it into billionaire ranks. It will make her India’s second-richest self-
made woman.

All these achievements are the results of the hardcore marketing

efforts of Nykaa that increased its brand awareness.

So, that’s how Nykaa has become a one-stop platform of cosmetics for
customers just like French multinational retailer Sephora.

Let us dive deeper into the marketing strategy of Nykaa and

understand how it attracts its target customers.

Social media Marketing

In its marketing strategy, social media platforms play a great role. . On
social media. Nykaa’s four social media accounts consist of its in-house
brand My Nykaa, Nykaa beauty for promoting its e-commerce platform,
Nykaa fashion for its e-commerce apparel store, and Nykaa beauty

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book that offers various beauty and makeup tips to the audience.
Moreover, each of its accounts serves a different purpose.
The brand is serving across various social media platforms to promote
its brand. Nykaa targets its customers on social media platforms by
influencer marketing. On its social media handles the brand also posts
the content created by influencers where they try out Nykaa’s products.
YouTube Marketing
Nykaa has a full-fledged YouTube marketing strategy. On its Nykaa
YouTube channel, the brand does not focus on selling its product but
offering consumable content to its target, which involves beauty,
personal care tips, makeup hacks, and much more.

The YouTube playlist of Nykaa has a variety of content like Beauty

horoscope, bridal makeup tips, celebrity beauty secrets, and the list
goes on and on.

Also, the brand runs YouTube ads to target its customers. The YouTube
marketing of Nykaa is full of quality content that keeps the audience
engaged.
Content Marketing
Nykaa’s content marketing is one of its most powerful strategies that
makes most of its customers. Nykaa offers a variety of consumable
content to the audience hence converting them into its
customer. Nykaa has its own blog, “Nykaa beauty book,” where it
publishes blogs on beauty, makeup, and personal care.
Also, the brand creates video content like makeup tutorials, DIYs, and
much more. The brand has a team of young professionals who
understand the preferences and likings of its target customers and
create content to target them.

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Event Marketing
It is evident that event marketing is a great way to pitch the right
customer at the right time and right place. Nykaa is sponsoring the
widely popular event Femina Miss India for the last 3 years. Nykaa has
increased its brand value by sponsoring one of the largest beauty
events in India.
Not just this event, but Nykaa also sponsored various college fests and
events like the Red Brick Summit, 2019 IIM Ahmedabad, and Mood
Indigo, a Mumbai college fest.

Stepping in Brick and Mortar

Nykaa started its journey as an eCommerce store, but gradually it

stepped into brick and mortar to provide an omnichannel presence for
its customers.

As most of the customers cannot try the products when buying online,
so the brand spread across the country by forming Nykaa brick-and-
mortar stores. Nykaa has over 68 physical stores across India, and
that’s how it’s maintaining its offline presence.

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5 million brand ambassadors
Don’t be shocked, these 5 million brand ambassadors are active users
of the brand. It is the word of mouth that the brand generates, and
that’s how the brand has got such a huge customer base. 

Nykaa’s CMO, Hitesh Malhotra, stated in one of his interviews that the
customer of Nykaa is the brand ambassador who actively promotes the
brand with word of mouth.
The customers have a great role in the success of the brand.

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From makeup to wardrobe
Initially, Nykaa’s focus was on beauty and personal care products but
in 2018 the brand created a place in customer’s wardrobes as well by
launching Nykaa Fashion. It is known to be its next biggest frontier.
Nykaa Fashion is the eCommerce platform that offers apparel from
hundreds of brands online.

The launch of Nykaa Fashion can tell that the brand is unstoppable and
will keep on expanding its customer base.

Brand Endorsements and collaborations

After creating a public image and building its brand stronger, Nykaa
stepped into brand endorsements and collaborations to promote its
brand. In 2018, Jhanvi Kapoor was announced as the brand
ambassador and face of Nykaa.

The young actress actively promotes the brand on her social media
pages and gain by creating video content and tutorials by trying out
different products of Nykaa.

Another big name in the fashion industry is the fashion designer

Masaba Gupta. The designer has collaborated with Nykaa and offers a
special range, “Nykaa by Masaba,” where the packaging of Nykaa
products is designed and printed by Masaba.
Seasonal Discounts and offers
The eCommerce platform provides various offers and discounts to its
users. The Pink Friday sale is the biggest sale on Nykaa, where it offers
huge discounts on various brands to attract more customers and
increase its sales and user base. Also, the Black Friday sale offers many
discounts on various products.

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The brand also offers free gifts on special purchases to make the
customers even happier with their purchases. It is a great way the
brand builds customer retention.

 Marketing Mix of Nykaa

Nykaa makes use of the marketing mix strategically to achieve not only
the marketing objectives but also the broader organizational objectives.

Marketing Mix of Nykaa is presented below:

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1. Product
Product is one of the most important components of the Nykaa
Marketing mix. The distinctive characteristics of the product by Nykaa
are:

1.1 Quality

● Nykaa maintains the high quality of products

● Nykaa procures raw materials from reliable and trusted suppliers
only
● These raw materials are processed under carefully maintained
environments to maintain high and consistent quality of the
products
● High quality promise and delivery also provides Nykaa with a
distinctive competitive advantage

2.2. Ease of use

● The products manufactured and sold by Nykaa are relatively easy

to use
● All products come with a user manual, which is easy to
understand, and which provides simple instructions for product
use
● The consumers can also call the 24/7 helpline to understand
details about product usage

2.3. Portfolio broadness

● Nykaa has a broad portfolio of products

● The broad portfolio helps Nykaa in reaching different target
groups in the market
● Also, the broad portfolio allows financial strength to Nykaa

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2.4. Benefits of product consumption

● The distinguishing aspect of Nykaa is its delivery of emotional

benefits to the consumer
● Products manufactured and sold by Nykaa promise consumers an
ego boost, confidence, and security
● Nykaa also promises fulfilment of psychological needs on product
consumption
● These psychological needs include, for example, the need for
empathy, the need for belonging, and the need of feeling loved.

2.5. Different SKUs

● The products by Nykaa are available in different sizes

● Nykaa has made use of different SKUs to increase market
penetration
● Different SKUs can be bought and used as per the consumption
needs of the consumers, and the target markets
● Different SKUs have also helped Nykaa improve its product
accessibility

2. Price
Nykaa marketing mix focuses on a hybrid strategy for pricing to obtain
maximum value for its products. The marketing mix Nykaa uses a
combination of several techniques for pricing its products, which are
detailed below:

2.1. Premium pricing

● By using premium pricing for some of its product ranges, Nykaa

encourages favorable brand and product perceptions in target
consumer groups

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 ● Premium pricing for products also encourages a favorable quality
perception of Nykaa products amongst consumers
● Premium prices add a touch of privilege and high value in Nykaa
● Using elements of premium prices in other product ranges has
also allowed Nykaa to maintain significantly high profits and a
consistent business growth

2.2. Psychological pricing

● Since Nykaa has several different product ranges and product

groups, the use of psychological pricing has been beneficial
● With the use of psychological pricing, Nykaa also successfully adds
more value to its products from the point of view of customers
● Nykaa also gains higher sales with psychological pricing
● Consumers purchase a higher amount of Nykaa products because
of its use of psychological pricing

2.3. Geographical pricing

● Nykaa can penetrate different regional markets optimally with the

use of geographical pricing
● For offshore locations, geographical pricing also allows Nykaa to
cover shipping and customs expenses
● Geographical pricing also allows Nykaa to maintain consistent
revenue growth by altering pricing in different markets based on
local currency value

3. Placement

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Nykaa places high importance on the placement of its products
because it directly relates to accessibility for consumers.

3.1. Company-operated stored

● The company maintains stores operated by the management of

Nykaa in all markets
● Company-operated stores give Nykaa higher control over
operations as well as store layout and design
● Nykaa also interacts directly with the consumers and gathers
important details regarding consumer behavior and consumer
feedback through company-operated stores

3.2. Licensed stores

● Nykaa licensed stores also allow consumers to enjoy the various

product offerings by the company
● Licensed stores also decrease the risk of financial and physical
investment for Nykaa in unstable markets
● Licensed stores have also given Nykaa high business growth, and
a boost for rapid market expansion and penetration
● Through licensed stores, Nykaa has also learned about local
consumers and cultures
● Licensed stores and shops encourage sales of products by Nykaa
by aligning it with local cultural values
● Licensed stores also help Nykaa in localizing its product offerings
to enhance brand equity and band image

3.3. E-commerce

● Nykaa has developed a successfully operational website for online

order placement and order tracking

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 ● Nykaa also encourages sales through social media portals, where
the company takes orders through direct messages, as well as
through a mini-shop model
● The company also stocks products with online retailers such as
Amazon and eBay, as well as smaller local online retailers as well
● Online retailing and using the internet to make sales has boosted
the sales for Nykaa and has also increased the accessibility of its
products for consumers.

3.4. Supermarkets and hypermarkets

● Nykaa also places its products in supermarkets and hypermarkets

across the country
● Many Nykaa target groups shop from supermarkets and
hypermarkets
● Placement in supermarkets and hypermarkets also improves cost
efficiency for Nykaa.

4. Promotion
The marketing strategy for Nykaa also places high importance on the
promotional tactics and strategies used. The promotional strategies
allow the Nykaa com A Passion for Beauty to interact with the
consumers and influence them directly. Nykaa uses a 360-degree
approach in its promotional activities, and makes use of the following
means of promotion:

4.1. Digital marketing

● Nykaa has corporate profiles on all social media websites and

portals

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 ● Nykaa uses its social media presence to directly, engage with
consumers
● This direct engagement and interaction allow Nykaa com A
Passion for Beauty to understand the customers, their needs and
demands
● Nykaa uses this feedback and incorporates it in its broader
marketing and organizational strategy
● Nykaa also maintains a corporate website – which highlights
company information, product information as well as information
regarding any ongoing campaigns and sales.

4.2. Reward Programs

● Nykaa has a loyalty card program for its customers

● The loyalty card allows customers to redeem points in exchange
for products or other exciting gifts, as directed by the company
● Each purchase is entered into the loyalty card by Nykaa and is
valued for points against the products’ monetary value
● The loyalty card can be purchased or is given complementary by
Nykaa on high valued purchases
● Frequent usage and purchase of products by Nykaa also has
rewards against the loyalty card

4.3. Community Influencers

● Nykaa makes use of community influencers as its on-ground

promotional efforts
● Nykaa identifies strong and confident individuals to be brand
ambassadors in their communities

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 ● Nykaa provides these brand ambassadors and community
influencers with its product range and invites them to use it
themselves to see benefits

4.4. Conventional marketing

● The company places advertisements in consumer-related

magazines. This largely includes home decor, and home
management magazines
● Magazine ads are not very frequent, but appear twice every
quarter of the fiscal year
● In high-density locations, Nykaa also makes use of out of house
hoardings
● Hoardings increase visibility for Nykaa and work towards building
stronger brand recall
● Nykaa also produces TV advertisements
● All TV advertisements have an emotional appeal to them

Segmentation
Nykaa’s marketing strategy uses different means of segmentation to
reach an increase in market penetration.

1. Demographic segmentation

1.1. Age
Nykaa has consumers of age groups

● 20-45 years
● 45-60 years

1.2. Gender

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 ● Nykaa has a broad product portfolio for both males and females

1.3. Life-cycle stage

Consumers for Nykaa, according to the marketing strategy, are in the
following various life cycle stages:

● Single students
● Single graduates
● Single people living at home/not living at home
● Young couples without children
● Married couples with one to four children – all at home
● Married couples with one or two children in college
● Old married couples with an empty nest

1.4. Occupation
The marketing strategy devises the following occupations for Nykaa
consumers:

● Professionals
● Students
● House makers

2. Psychographic segmentation

2.1. Social class

● Nykaa focuses on segments of middle-upper and upper social

classes

2.2. Lifestyle
Nykaa segments have the following lifestyle characteristics:

● They aspire towards a better and higher living standard

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 ● They want to be successful – professionally and socially
● They are not hesitant to try new things, products and services in
life
● They are confident in their behavior and attitude
● They are mainstreamers in their fields

3. Geographic segmentation

3.1. Region

● Nykaa has operations spread across the western developed

countries such as America, the United Kingdom, and the
Netherlands
● It also has operations in emerging markets such as Brazil, India,
and China

3.2. Density

● The focus of Nykaa remains on the urban part of the population

4. Behavioral segmentation

4.1. Personality
The marketing strategy defines personality characteristics for the
consumers of the brand of Nykaa, such as:

● Determined
● Confident
● Ambitious
● Hardworking

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4.2. Usage frequency

● The consumer segments for Nykaa are regular and frequent users
of the product

4.3. Benefits sought

● Consumers seek functional benefits

● The focus, however, is more on the emotional benefits reaped
from the consumption of the brand

4.4. Degree of loyalty

● Consumers are very loyal

● Have an emotional attachment with the brand

Targeting
The marketing strategy of Nykaa targets consumer groups based on
segmentation as follows:

1. Target market

● The target market for Nykaa is from middle to upper class

● The target market is ambitious and desires to purchase high-end
consumer products
● This target market also seeks affordability
● To meet target market expectations, the Nykaa focuses on quality
control

2.Mass marketing

● The marketing strategy of Nykaa focuses on mass marketing

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 ● This also requires unique marketing designs and product
promotion programs
● Nykaa makes use of one strategy to influence all segments

Positioning

● Nykaa’s competitors such as Amazon, Flipkart, eBay also sell

products in beauty and personal care. Hence consumer can get
several options of purchasing from different websites and
compare prices of the products. So, there is similarity between
Nykaa and its competitors which would affect the mind of
targeted consumers while positioning brand.
● Where other e-commerce giants like Amazon, Flipkart, eBay
retails electronic goods, household products, foods, groceries etc.
here Nykaa exists for only cosmetic products. It is the one-stop
destination for all products that you need for essential spa and
beauty treatment. And price of products is also relatively cheaper
than other e- commerce platform which would bring changes in
consumer behavior and preferences.
● Nykaa has plenty of choices in wellness service with their
exclusive Gabon coupons which usually attract customers.

 How can Nykaa be more Sustainable?

Sustainability encompasses:

 The governance of the brand (how the brand is run, training,

employee engagement, volunteering etc.)

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  Environmental issues with regards to how the business is run and
it’s supply chain (waste and recycling, energy use, CO2 emissions,
water reduction opportunities, packaging etc.)
 Social and ethical issues (fair wages, working hours, harassment,
diversity and inclusion etc.)
 Circularity of the products a company makes (can it be made into
something else after its initial use)
 Traceability of the product (understanding your supply chain)
 Transparency of the brand to its customers and stakeholders

Improvement of business w.r.t. Sustainability can take place via:

1. Transparency
Being open and honest with your stakeholders and customers.
Transparency is a key way to let your stakeholders know you are
serious about sustainability. Being transparent with your
customers and your stakeholders is key to making your brand
sustainable. This means, sharing your supply chains with your
stakeholders and customers.

2. Environmental programs and resource reductions

Start paying attention to Environmental Programs and Resource
Reductions, not only in your own work space and offices, but also
with your suppliers, factories and mills. To ensure your brand is
sustainable, it is critical that you do a bit of homework on your
current office space you work out of, warehouse space (if you
have one) and the factories and mills that you utilize. Such things
as energy use, waste and recycling, greenhouse gas emissions,
water use and chemical reductions must be considered.

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 3. Circularity in your Products
When it comes to design of products, there is a term called
circularity-this is a key area where brands can reduce waste and
help the environment. According to the Ellen MacArthur
Foundation, a Circular Economy is one in which waste and
pollution are designed out, products are kept in play for as long as
possible and where natural systems are regenerated. 

Circularity encompasses the utilization of low environmental

impact fabrics, re-use, re-design and recycling.  Look at areas
where you have waste fabrics for example, created. Think outside
the box and figure out what you can do with these scraps.

4. Pay your supply chain fairly or even better, a living wage

Find out what each and every part of your supply chain is paying
their workers. Make sure the workers are getting a Fair Wage or
even better a Living Wage. This is a critically important way to
make a brand more sustainable.

 References

 https://lapaas.com/nykaa-business-model-detailed-case-study/

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  https://startuptalky.com/nykaa-success-story/

 https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/falguni-nayar-nykaa-stock-

market-listing-profile-entrepreneurship-social-media-1875466-

2021-11-11

 https://www.glowandlovelycareers.in/blog/beautyful-success-

story-falguni-nayar-ceo-nykaa-78

 https://elle.in/article/falguni-nayar-nykaa-founder-entrepreneur/

 https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/startups/ipo-bound-

nykaa-charts-post-lockdown-recovery-reveals-house-of-brands-

plan/articleshow/87256230.cms

 https://www.analyticssteps.com/blogs/success-story-nykaa

 https://www.case48.com/case/Nykaa-com-A-Passion-for-Beauty-

Marketing-Strategy-22745

 https://www.slideshare.net/SutapaNandy/marketing-plan-of-an-

android-app-nykaa-presentation

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