Nykaa to raise USD 10 mn, expand brick-and-mortar presence

Online beauty products retailer Nykaa.Com will raise about USD 10 million in the next three months to fund expansion of its brick-and-mortar stores and introduce its own private label of products.
The company, founded by former Kotak Mahindra Capital Company Managing Director Falguni Nayar, has previously raised about Rs 20 crore from high networth individuals (HNIs).
"We plan to raise another round of funds by June. This will be about USD 8-10 million, again from HNIs. We will use the funds for marketing and other expansion-related activities," Nayar told reporters here.
Inspired by French chain of cosmetics stores Sephora, Nykaa sells branded products across categories like bath & body, fragrances, hair care, makeup and skincare for men and women.

The e-tailer claims to have over 18,000 SKUs and operates on an inventory-led model, contrary to the likes of Snapdeal and Flipkart that have a marketplace model.
"We want to launch our private labels this year. Private labels are a big business for global players like Sephora. We will look at categories like beauty tools and accessories," Nayar said.

The company, which started operations in December 2012, is also looking at expanding its presence with physical retail stores across major metros.
"We have an offline store at Delhi airport. Now, we are looking at two more stores in the next 18 months in Mumbai and Bangalore," he said.

According to a report by Forrester Research and Google India, online shopper base in India is expected to grow three times by 2016 to 100 million from 35 million in 2014.
Of the 100 million online shoppers, about 40 million are estimated to be women. Already, women buyers in Tier I cities are driving growth, outspending men by two times, especially in categories like apparel, beauty and skincare, home furnishing, baby products and jewellery.