Road to Profitability
FALGUNI NAYAR HAS REDEFINED THE ONLINE BEAUTY SPACE.
FALGUNI NAYAR, the founder of omni-channel beauty retail chain Nykaa, has every reason to smile. In an environment when profitability is evading almost every ecommerce retailer, Nykaa which reported revenues of Rs 570 crore in 2017/18 achieved EBITDA profitability. “We have just turned EBITDA profitable and if we keep that momentum going, this year we will achieve profitability. That’s a big goal for us and I will be delighted if we can achieve that this year,” says Nayar. Nykaa, in its five years of existence, has emerged as a sought-after retailer for most beauty and personal care brands. Nayar, who likes to be called as the Indian Sephora, in the last one year has also got a number of leading international beauty brands to foray into the Indian market exclusively through Nykaa. “Recently, I was in Japan, and I saw a lot of retail formats imploring virtual reality. It is going to be the next big thing and the technology is already quite advanced. This trend is going to start penetrating user experiences throughout retailing, whether in ecommerce or physical stores. I think consumers will embrace this trend and have a lot of fun with it,” explains Nayar.
Her vision is to become a brand that consumers love. “We would want to give them the best products from what the world has to offer, and Nykaa’s own brands, and continue to build on that.”
WHY SHE MAT T E RS She is the founder of one of the few ecommerce ventures that are close to profitability