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Debdatta Das

New Delhi, Sept. 5 Ayurvedic company Shahnaz Herbals is to tap the direct-to-customer selling route through the Veda Dynamics brand name, to expand its presence across the country.

In the direct selling initiative, the company will recruit women ‘beauty advisors’, who will pay an initial amount of Rs 7,500, who will in-turn be given Rs 6,000 worth products to sell as well as training in selling skills and education on the product usage.

“We have kept a high threshold for those enrolling as beauty advisor since we want only women who are serious enough to see this as a continuous source of income,” said Mr Sharik Currimbhoy, Vice-President, Shahnaz Herbals. The advisors will create income for themselves not only through selling the products, but also through inducting other women into the programme. An advisor is entitled Rs 1,000 for every woman she inducts.

The company, which has already been running a pilot model for direct selling in Delhi, has already enrolled 600 beauty advisors. “We plan to enrol around 1.5 lakh advisors in the next two years to earn revenues worth Rs 160 crore from the Veda Dynamics initiative by 2010-11,” said Mr Currimbhoy. The total direct-to-consumer selling market for cosmetics in India is around Rs 500 crore, growing at 20 per cent on a year-on-year basis. Shahnaz Herbals expects the overall market to grow to Rs 850 crore in the next three years.

Ms Shahnaz Hussain, Founder and Chairperson, Shahnaz Herbals, told Business Line, “Though I feel we should have started direct selling long back, this will surely be a substantial and very important part of our business in th e future.”

“Shahnaz Herbal has always preferred the referral route rather than the advertising, mass media route. The Veda Dynamics initiative will just take this a step further,” said Ms Hussain.

The initiative will also sell a whole new range of daily regimen products, such as toners and face packs under the Veda Dynamics brand, that have been exclusively created for the direct selling initiative, at a price range of Rs 200-Rs 695.

In fact, the company also plans to introduce the Veda Dynamics initiative internationally, starting with the UAE, gradually extending to other parts of the world where the herbal giant has a presence.

More Stories on : Direct Marketing | Cosmetics | Brands

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