Sephora Teams With Reliance Retail Ventures in India
PARIS — Sephora has partnered with Reliance Beauty and Personal Care Ltd. to help develop prestige beauty retailing in India.
The LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton-owned retailer said Friday that it has teamed with the wholly owned subsidiary of Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd., or RRVL, giving it exclusive rights to build Sephora’s presence in the country cross-channel.
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As part of the deal, Reliance Beauty & Personal Care will take over the India operations of Sephora’s 26 stores in 13 cities from Arvind Fashions Ltd.
Arvind Fashions said in a stock exchange filing that the transaction was made at an enterprise value of 2.16 billion rupees, or $25.96 million, which goes toward the sale of its entire equity stake and loan repayment. The group’s beauty division reported sales of 3.37 billion rupees in its 2023 fiscal year, ended March 31.
“During this period of transition, the stores and website will be operating business as usual,” Sephora said in a statement. “Reliance Beauty & Personal Care Ltd. operates the beauty business for RRVL, and this partnership will boost its portfolio of offerings.”
Sephora said the Indian beauty and personal care market is still in its infancy, currently generating $17 billion and advancing at an 11 percent compound annual growth rate.
The retailer called India “one of the largest untapped consumer markets globally.”
RRVL is India’s largest retailer and among the fastest-growing worldwide, according to Sephora, which added: “It also uniquely combines deep consumer insights with unparalleled customer access, both offline and digitally.”
Sephora, considered the world’s largest omnichannel prestige beauty retailer, first entered India in late 2012. “We are tremendously excited to partner with the largest retail group in India to step-change our business,” said Alia Gogi, Sephora’s Asia president, in the statement. “Rising affluence, increasing urbanization and the proliferation of social media have driven greater awareness of self care and beauty, unlocking major opportunities for prestige beauty.
“It is an opportune time for us to invest in expanding our presence, and bring new, exciting and exclusive brands to delight our growing community of beauty enthusiasts,” she continued. “We are equally grateful to Arvind for their partnership over the past eight years to get us positioned for the next stage of growth.”
“The burgeoning Indian beauty market is being propelled by a new generation of customers with a strong desire to express their individuality, rising aesthetic refinement and a growing number of women in the young workforce of India,” said V. Subramaniam, director of RRVL. “The Indian consumerism journey is at a tipping point, providing the perfect tailwind to this partnership. Importantly, this partnership will help us straddle across the value chain in the beauty and personal care segment.”
When Sephora launched in India it was received with great enthusiasm. There was not much competition. Baccarose-owned Parcos was one of the country’s largest beauty distributors and it now has more than 60 doors.
Sephora’s past series of partnerships in the country have surprised industry analysts, since none of them had been been with big beauty players.
Sephora first launched in India with Genesis Luxury, among the foremost luxury groups at the time. It had received funding from the LVMH-owned investment fund L Capital (now L Catterton), and partnered with brands such as Burberry, Paul Smith, Canali, Jimmy Choo and Bottega Veneta. Genesis had no experience in beauty.
Then in 2014 Sephora changed partners, teaming with DLF Brands, which at the time had a strength in mall real estate and global brands, but with none in beauty. A year later, Sephora linked with Arvind Brands, which later became Arvind Fashions. Although Arvind had a huge portfolio of global brands, none was a beauty player.
As Sephora’s new store openings slowed down over the last two years, market rumors abounded that it could change hands again.
Reports indicate talks with RRVL failed last year. Then in April, RRVL launched Tira, its own beauty omnichannel store, and planned a big rollout.
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