The Hindu Business Line : Dabur’s H&B Stores to offer beauty related services

Mumbai, Sept. 10 Dabur India is planning to introduce beauty and health services as part of its retail operations. With intentions of emulating the services offered by Marico’s Kaya Skin Clinics, the company’s H&B Stores would be offering beauty related services on a similar concept.

Mr Peter Baker, Chief Executive Officer, H&B Stores, told Business Line, “We would be offering beauty related services much on the lines of what Kaya Skin Clinics presently have. There would be services such as whitening and facials along with the regular manicures and pedicures. However, these services will not be at a premium since we are a value for money brand. The purpose is to make these services affordable to consumers in the smaller cities as we expand.”

Dabur India is expected to have a separate brand to represent its services in the future.

Besides, the retail stores would also be doling out pharmacy services based on its ayurvedic portfolio of products. With intentions of having speciality stores in the area of health, beauty and wellness, Dabur expects to differentiate its H&B stores by offering services to go with it. Hiring specialists to deliver these services is now on the agenda for Dabur. “At the moment, we could compare ourselves to the Health & Glow stores of the RPG Group and has the look and feel close to that of a supermarket,” says Mr Baker.

With plans of launching between four and six stores during the course of this year in Delhi and the NCR region, the company expects to start its operations in the North before it has pan-India presence with 40 stores lined up for 2008-09.

Building the H&B stores with three different sizes (6,000 sq ft, 3,000 sq ft and 1,500 sq ft), Dabur claims the product range would have a preference towards Dabur’s own portfolio. As Mr Baker states, “While there would be wide range of products, almost 80 per cent of these would be from Dabur itself.”

Having invested Rs 140 crore already into its retailing business, H&B Stores Ltd, currently a subsidiary of Dabur India, expects to break even by 2010. “In our first year, we expect sales between Rs 18,000 and Rs 20,000 per sq ft,” says Mr Baker who believes in not being a discounter but a value retailer in this business.

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