The Hindu Business Line : Hair and now

HAIR colour today doesn't necessarily cover strands of grey. A shade of bright burgundy or golden chocolate could well be a fashion statement, and colouring hair is definitely a rage among urban youth. The category, as per a recent report of AC Nielsen, is poised for 20 per cent growth this year.

While powder dyes and henna still rule the Rs 280-crore hair colour market with a 50 per cent share, the AC Nielsen report claims that the demand for colorants is on the rise. This category straddles the premium, middle and popular segments, with brands such as L'Oreal in the premium segment (over Rs 300 per pack); Revlon ColorSilk, Godrej Color Soft and Garnier Nutrisse in the mid-segment (Rs 100 - 300) and Garnier Color Naturals and Godrej Renew in the popular segment (around Rs 100).

The latest entrant into this segment is Henkel Spic India's Schwarzkopf with its two brands Silkience and Palette. While Silkience caters to the premium segment, Palette fits into the popular category.

Satish Kumar, Managing Director, Henkel Spic India, says that with most hair colorant brands offering a number of value-adds such as conditioning and extra nourishment to the hair, consumers are fast switching to colorants from liquid dyes and powders even though they have to pay a premium.

Silkience, for instance, claims to be enriched with the Liquid Silk Technology, which not only gives good coloration but a `smooth and silky' feel to the hair. It is available in five basic colours and three fashion colours (Violet Brown, Wild Auburn and Golden Chocolate). Palette, on the other hand, is supposed to contain almond extracts and vitamin C to nourish the hair, and is available in five basic shades and one fashion shade.

"While Silkience will have limited distribution, Palette would be sold through both modern trade and fragmented trade outlets. Palette is meant to target non-colorant users," says Kumar.

Hair care, under the Schwarzkopf brand, forms the largest strategic business unit (SBU) for Henkel globally, with Schwarzkopf Professional (salon products) and Schwarzkopf Retail, which is the home use segment. Schwarzkopf Professional entered India in 2000, and with the launch of the home-use category, Kumar hopes that the hair-care category will contribute to the growth of the cosmetics and toiletries division by at least 12 per cent.

But with Schwarzkopf Professional already having a considerably good presence in salons across the country, won't the retail products clash with the salon products? "Certainly not," says Rajeshwari D. Seth, General Manager (Cosmetics and Toiletries), Henkel Spic India. "The professional products are meant for the most premium segment of consumers who can afford to pay a minimum of Rs 3,000 to get their hair coloured. The home-use segment caters to a completely different class of consumers who are driven by value," she adds.

K. Jagdish, Head (Retail), Trends-In-Vogue (the retail division of CavinKare), also doesn't see any clash between the salon and home-use products. "Most cosmetics companies across the globe have a salon range and a home-use range, and there is absolutely no scope for clash between the two segments. The home-use products are formulated in such a way that the consumers can use them easily without professional assistance. The salon products, on the other hand, are more rigorous and need professional expertise. Hence, the salon products are more effective and long-lasting than the home-use products."

Henkel is shortly going to kick off an advertising campaign for both its retail brands and is also planning a number of surround activities to promote them. "To start with, we are going to have a beauty advisor at all the modern trade outlets to explain the products. Each colorant has a different form of application and the consumer needs to be guided," says Seth.

Retail market

The home-use colorant market, as per the AC Nielson report, is growing steadily, with the popular segment witnessing a 70 per cent value growth over 2003, followed by the premium segment. The mid-segment, as per the report, is shrinking.

K. Radhakrishnan, Vice-President (Marketing), FoodWorld Supermarkets, says that the home-use segment has grown dramatically over the last one year. "We have allocated three times more space to hair colorants this year at all our stores compared to last year. It is the Rs 85-145 range of colorant brands which is witnessing rapid growth," he says.

On the other hand, a spokesperson of Health & Glow says that while the overall hair colorant market is on a high with more and more consumers graduating to hair colorants, it is the premium segment which has witnessed the highest growth at all the Health & Glow outlets. "In the hair-care category, almost 50 per cent of our sales has been generated by colorants," he says. Flying colours, what?

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