The Hindu Business Line : H2O Plus looks to expand in India

Starting with two stand-alone stores in Delhi, the company has today expanded to Bangalore, Kolkata, Chandigarh and Mumbai. It is now looking to open 15 H2O Plus counters in high-profile retail outlets in the next few months.

The premium range of skin care products is targeted at women in the 25-39 years age group. They, according to the company, fall under the `urban professional women with growing disposable income' category.

The skin care products are priced between Rs 450 and Rs 1,400.

The company's domestic distributor and retailer is Sports Station (India) Pvt Ltd, which has so far invested around Rs 30-Rs 40 lakh.

The Product Manager, Ms Garima Makkar, said, "The products and the services are outperforming themselves and consumer response has been tremendous and far beyond expectation."

However, she said there was scope for enlarging the consumer base and the immediate challenge is to increase awareness about the products.

H2O Plus is addressing this through an aggressive advertising campaign in magazines that have a predominant women readership.

All H2O Plus products are imported from the US and are customised to every country where they are sold. However, the company has no plans to begin manufacturing locally as it does not want to enter contract manufacturing.

H2O Plus, which has worldwide retail sales of around $100 million, is entering into an alliance with United Airlines to supply its products to its first-class passengers.

It also hopes to expand its operations in Central Europe and South America.

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