Malls divert more space to beauty brands as consumer preferences shift
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Consumers are expected to shift spending from categories such as apparel and footwear to beauty and eating out over the next four to five years, prompting retailers and mall developers to re-examine their portfolios of offerings. Dalip Sehgal, CEO, Nexus Select Trust, which operates a portfolio of over 18 premium malls in India, said consumers are increasingly diversifying their expenditure with more focus on experiences and grooming.
“Beauty will become even bigger. So, let's say fashion today is 45-50% of the business. My sense is that between 5-7% of that will migrate to beauty because that’s under-penetrated as a category," Sehgal said in an interview with Mint.
Brands such as Nars (cosmetics), Gucci Beauty, Prada Beauty, and YSL Beauty opened stores in India via malls operated by the company in the current fiscal. Meanwhile, according to its December quarter investor update, French fashion company Maison Margiela and perfumer Diptyque Paris plan to expand their offline beauty portfolios via Nexus. Read more: Why q-commerce is driving more new-age brands to tap alternative financiers Its malls also house beauty retailers such as Reliance Retail’s Tira and Sephora, as well as Jo Malone stores.
Its portfolio targets an upmarket urban consumer base that has remained resilient through economic slowdowns. Beauty sales grew 5% year-on-year in the first nine months of the current fiscal year for the developer, which operates the largest portfolio of malls in India. Meanwhile, within its portfolio, Nexus Select Trust is seeing strong performance in family entertainment, beauty and personal care, and food courts, while apparel and supermarkets lag.
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