Nykaa Ties Up With Apparel Group To Enter GCC Market

Nykaa's parent has tied up with the Apparel Group for beauty and personal care multi-brand retail in Gulf alliance nations.

FSN E-commerce Ventures Ltd. has struck a 55:45 joint venture with the U.A.E.-based Apparel Group for selling lipsticks to lotions in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.

Nykaa's parent will hold the stake through its wholly owned subsidiary FSN International Pvt., Falguni Nayar, chairperson and managing director at FSN E-Commerce, said at a press conference.

Nykaa will hold the majority stake for Ind AS consolidation but in all sense it is an equal partnership, Nayar said.

It will be an omni-channel business across the grouping, Nayar said. The GCC comprises Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

The Apparel Group runs over 2,000 mono-retail stores across the countries. It has 750 outlets in the U.A.E. alone and 150 in India.

The business will take six to nine months to become operational, Neeraj Teckchandani, chief executive officer at Apparel Group, told BQ Prime. It will begin with digital operations.

Nykaa-Apparel Group will set up experiential outlets, like in India. All physical sales will take place through new retail stores set up under the alliance, said Nayar, adding that investments will be made in a phased manner.

The joint venture will use the supply chain and logistics of the Apparel Group in the beauty and personal care segment. The group generates revenue in high single digit from the category, and around 15% from private labels, said Teckchandani.