India’s wellness industry is poised to touch Rs 1,00,000 crore by 2015 with a compounded annual growth rate of 15-17 per cent, from about Rs 70,000 crore in 2012. This will give rise to job opportunities in the industry that is becoming more technological, says CK Kumaravel
The beauty and wellness industry has gained a lot of momentum in the last decade and ever since we’ve seen a lot of creative entrepreneurial minds coming together making their career graphs sore high. A study jointly conducted by industry body, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and global consulting firm Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC) revealed that India’s wellness industry is poised to touch Rs 1,00,000 crore by 2015, with a compounded annual growth rate of 15-17 per cent, from about Rs 70,000 crore in 2012.
Of the entire wellness industry, beauty care would continue to dominate with almost 50 per cent (about Rs 49,000 crore), followed by alternate therapy (about Rs 21,000 crore) and health and wellness food and beverages at about Rs 27,000 crore.
In India, the beauty care market is broadly divided into cosmetic products, salons and cosmetic treatment centres. It is estimated that over 85 per cent of the salon industry revenue comes from the women population though men’s interest to walk into salon has recently seen a major rise. Earlier only celebrities looked beautiful, today being well groomed has become a lifestyle. To look good, one not only has to be well dressed but pay equal attention to hair, maintain a healthy skin and take care of the most exposed skin such as face, hands and feet. Pollution, stress, imbalance lifestyle is an everyday word that effects ones skin and hair, be it a man or a woman. This has given the necessary boost to the salon industry as the generation is too busy to look at lengthy home remedies.
Earlier the understanding of a salon service which was just restricted to haircuts and facials, has now grown into providing complete wellness services right from hair care, beauty care, spa to cosmetic care. Keeping in mind today’s fast paced lifestyle, the response to such one-stop for all beauty needs has been received very well by the target customers.
One of the key factors that contribute to the ultimate experience in salons and spas are the employees in the forefront — from the receptionist who welcomes to the experts who suggest the regime and best look to the customer. Therefore, training each one of them to meet the expectations of the customer, the brand and the service is highly important. As a result, a lot of brands these days have established their own training academies where they educate on all aspects of a salon, be it managing or styling. It should not be just knowledge and skills pertaining to beauty and salon but also training in effective communication, efficient client servicing and salon management through internships in a salon that helps to easily fit into a working environment with absolute confidence.
Today, the market is flooded with International names besides the Indian beauty brands foraying into the salon business. There are around 2 lakh salons employing more than 10 lakh people where a deep-rooted gap of qualified professionals meeting the industry standards is evident. More often, well trained employees move from one organisation to the other that will not help in the long run in this fast developing industry. Given the phenomenal growth that lies ahead in the wellness and grooming sector, quality of talent will be the number one differentiating factor for a brand’s success. Nurturing fresh talent is the only way forward to make sure the industry grows abundantly.
Gone are the days when one would learn the basic techniques in a nearby beauty parlour and join a bigger name or start their own parlour. The salon concept is a much more technologically and experientially superior. Training a salon personal not only includes teaching the skills but how to use and care for the technologies involved, constantly informing them with new advancements in the market. Besides the techniques and technologies involved, they need to be educated on client behaviour and crisis management as well.
One of the reasons for the lack of talent could be that the organised beauty and wellness training is expensive. Unless each player takes active measures to create credible and accessible training infrastructure and contributes to training new professionals at a subsidised cost, salon brands will continue to face talent crunch.
To enhance such talent the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) conducts competitions in beauty across India. After few rounds, the final contenders go through a one-year of training by the national and international experts to represent India at the World skills International competition. Such competitions aren’t uncommon internationally but we need more such bodies to encourage people to join this industry.
Salon business is labour intensive and they are the most important recall value for a customer. For any brand, customer loyalty and client retention are the key objectives for the growth of their business. A salon customer relates to the pampering they receive during their visit. Beyond products and the specific services which are more or less the same in most outlets, it’s the people who attended to them that they remember and ask for in their next visit. Expert opinion is highly regarded to get the desired look or when one wants suggestions for the right hair and skin products and tips on skin, hair and body care. Hence, equipping the on-ground talent in tune with the latest trends and happenings in the beauty, wellness and fashion industry is a must to ensure meeting the International standards.
The writer is CEO and Co-founder, Naturals.