Tata Group to open 20 'beauty tech' outlets, in talks with foreign brands whome

The move pits Tata, whose interests range from cars, against LVMH's Sephora and domestic rival Nykaa for a share of the fast-growing $16 billion beauty and personal care market in the world's second-most populous country declined to comment on its planned beauty stores and the contents of the document seen by Reuters. Representatives of The Honest Company, not respond to Reuters requests for comment store opening plans, still under wraps, follow the recent launch of Tata's beauty shopping app, called Tata Palette. The company is already in the brick-and-mortar retail business in India, where it has joint-venture partnerships with global brands such as Zara and Starbucks stores will have a bright red facade showing branding, with 70% of the products inside being skincare and make up, according to the Tata document. Inside the stores, Tata is planning to install technology allowing customers to try on dozens of lipstick shades virtually on screens and to get digital skin tests to find out what products might work best for them, according to the document The technology is not new and is in use by other beauty retailers around the world, but this venture into what industry experts call experiential retail is still a relatively new concept in Indian malls and high street shops and retail is going to be a big thing in India as more customers will spend their leisure time at such stores  As India's economy grows, and people return to shops after coronavirus lockdowns, Tata is looking to target relatively young and affluent customers who like to shop in comfortable surroundings and are willing to pay the sticker price for premium international brands. Tata calls such customers non-bargainers in the document seen by Reuters, in contrast to most Indians who buy low-priced local brands of lipsticks or skin creams from small mom-and-pop beauty stores where haggling for discounts is common. The company is targeting shoppers with an annual income of at least 600,000 rupees ($7,358), which is more than three times the average earnings of $2,000 per year among India's 1.4 billion inhabitants India's $16 billion beauty and personal care market is much smaller than China's $92 billion, but market research and estimates India's will grow an average 7% a year over the next few years will strong competition to take advantage of the projected growth. Sephora, which has been in India for around a decade, has 26 outlets selling beauty and fragrance brands. Reliance, led by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, has a long-term plan to open 400 beauty stores, the first of which may open inside a Mumbai mall next month, according to a person familiar with its beauty plans retailer Nykaa, backed by private equity firm TPG, asset manager Fidelity and endorsed by a Bollywood celebrity, has said it plans to open as many as 300 stores, from 124 now. The company, which started as an online-only retailer, attracted attention to the sector last year when its stock nearly doubled after listing on the Mumbai stock exchange, valuing the company at the time at $14 billion.