'Shoppers Stop's Biggest Differentiator is Brand Expression at its Best'

In an exclusive interview, Kassim speaks about the company's strategy for its beauty business, its plans across channels and its ambitions to supply to every beauty retailer in the country

- Shiv Joshi

Beauty has been a key focus for Shoppers Stop since its inception in 1991. This was evident from the large beauty spread that greets customers when they walk into any Shoppers Stop across the country showcasing some of the biggest brands from across the globe like Dior, Nars, Clarins, Armani, Prada, YSL (Yves Saint Laurent), Estée Lauder, M.a.c Clinique, Bobbi Brown and Too Faced -all the premium brands that otherwise operate only in a boutique environment.

Today, about 18% (₹262 crore) of Shoppers Stop's overall business comes from beauty across formats, out of which approx. 42% comes from fragrance, followed by makeup and skincare. And the company wants to take beauty contribution to 20% and then 25% in three years, Biju Kassim, who took over reins of the chain's beauty business as President - beauty in January 2022, told IMAGES Retail. Onboarding Kassim was one of the first steps in the Mumbai-based listed retailer's plan to recalibrate its beauty strategy post-Covid in the face of intensifying competition from new-age companies and new players in the segment.

The retail company, which recently celebrated the milestone of 10 million customers on the country's longest-running loyalty programmeFirst Citizen-pivoted from being a department store-only company to being an operator of speciality beauty stores named SS Beauty and a distributor of international beauty brands in February 2022. These were in addition to boutiques it was running for Estée Lauder, M.a.c Clinique, Bobbi Brown, Jo Malone and Too faced through its partnership with Estée Lauder Companies.

In an exclusive interview, Kassim speaks about the company's strategy for its beauty business, its plans across channels and its ambitions to supply to every beauty retailer in the country. Edited excerpts...

Why did Shoppers Stop decide to venture into the distribution of beauty brands?