Dubai: Guarantee authenticity is what brands should focus on to get the consumer journey right, according to Anchit Nayar of Nykaa.
“Our plan is to become a bigger consumer company,” said Nayar, the CEO of the online cosmetics retailer spoke on the sidelines of Indian Global Forum in Dubai. “It is a guarantee of authenticity in an industry that thrives with counterfeit products as well as democratisation of access has made us a very well received and a trusted company.”
Talking about Nykaa’s success as a private company, the CEO said, “It all takes us back to cultural frugality and cultural perspective of a business. One of the reasons for success is building a company in the right way as one that is built for the long-term success is about short-term gains.
“Historically e-commerce was all about the liquidation of stock. But now there is a shift towards catering to customer needs as the broader ecosystem. I think that’s gone a long way and allowed us to be profitable.”
“We are very proud of being able to build an Indian e-commerce consumer technology company. And that’s what motivates us every day. It has been a large part of why we believe in the public markets.”
Falguni Nayar, the founder of the beauty startup, recently joined the ranks of the world’s richest after an eminently successful IPO. Nayar, who owns about half of Nykaa, is now worth about $6.5 billion. She’s become India’s wealthiest self-made female billionaire, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
FSN E-Commerce Ventures, Nykaa’s parent entity, is India’s first woman-led unicorn to hit the stock exchange. It priced its IPO at the top end of a marketed range, raising Rs53.5 billion.
Nayar said Falguni entered the market with a vague understanding of the sector. She identified a market gap and decided to take advantage and left her career as an investment banker to become an entrepreneur. “She did it because she had tremendous respect for some of the entrepreneurs who she met as an investment banker.”
“She always admired their fearless approach to business and risk-taking and that is something that she wanted to replicate. What is equally important, in my opinion, is her major push to an institution, and that goes back to respecting shareholders and investors.
“Never has she discussed, you know, valuation or even growth at any cost. At Nykaa, it’s all been sustainable growth and delivering profitability. And it comes from understanding that we have millions of customers who depend on us, and 1,000s of employees who depend on before and not taking undue risk-taking the right risks.”
“We have always said that we are a lifestyle etailer, and there are lots of opportunities in the lifestyle space itself, today we are entering into fashion. As I said, given the massive market we want to understand and cater to customers. But gradually we will explore opportunities to do businesses in similar markets especially in UAE.”
