The spa and salon industry is women centric but men are catching up fast: Nitin Kalwani

Times are changing and so is the wellness industry. Now, it is just not only women who want to look good but also men who don’t want to stay behind. In a chat session with Nitin Kalwani, Managing Director, Juice Salon, we unearthed the factors which can help the spa and salon industry to grow at a more rapid pace.

• India is still a mason market in respect to the spa and salon industry. Can you explain why?
  One of the reasons for this is that the women segment has been exposed to the trends, Internet, movies etc and this has been shaping a lot of things for the market. Looking good has become hot and that is why the growth of the salon industry is also happening. If we take an example, almost 5-10 years ago, if an average girl would have to go to a party, she would not think of doing a blow dry but now the trends have changed and girls prefer blow drying before heading out. International media is also influencing the market a lot these days and inspirations are being taken from there. Celebrities are followed and their latest fashion and beauty trends are getting all the attention. Though the men segment has just started growing, the women are all influenced and motivated. Looking good has become the new wave and the spa and salon industry is growing because of this and will continue to grow.

• Is the men’s grooming sector catching up in India with the changing wave of trends?
  Earlier In used to see this word ‘metrosexual’ everywhere used for the Indian men but now it is no longer too much in use. I travel a lot and have been to US and Europe recently and what I observed was that the men’s grooming sector is evolving everywhere. It is just not only in India but also in other parts of the world. If you’ll go to a departmental store, 90% of the products you’ll see there will be women centric, 10% is now what you’ll see the products turning towards men in the developed world. India has a huge room to grow but we are just scratching the surface right now. It’s like we have not even started in this industry in terms of India.

• Which cities are you targeting for the penetration and growth of your brand, Juice Salons?
  India is a huge country and one can open a business in more than 100 cities if they wish to. There is a big myth about tier 1, tier 2 and tier 3 cities but I believe differently. The growth is obviously going to be in tier 1 and 2 cities and the tier 3 cities will require time to grow as they are not up there yet. I believe that tier 2 cities are definitely going to be huge but the same model as for the tier 1 cities will not work for them and this is very clear in my mind.

• Which one market in the industry, according to you, is a hot market?
  India is a very value-centric market and the growth area is not the luxury. The growth area in India is still the mid-market kind of segment which has all the scope of booming. In certain areas, people want luxury services but if you see the demographics of the whole country, there are still 80% people who are not being catered to by anyone and I think that it the segment one should pay attention to in India.

• What is your current strength of the salons and how much are you aiming in the coming year?
  We have 30 salons in India, 5 in Dubai, UAE and we hope to become a 100 salons company in the next three years.