Elizabeth Arden upbeat on India plans

The $815-million international premium beauty products firm Elizabeth Arden expects its Indian business to grow over 50 per cent this year.

The company which is a leading global marketer and manufacturer of beauty products has an estimated seven per cent market share of the $120 million market for premium beauty products in the country.

Ranjan Neikhery, business development manager for Asia, Elizabeth Arden, told Business Standard that though the Indian market was not very big at present, the scope was enormous. "China and India are huge markets for us. The last two years have been tremendous for us in the Indian market," Neikhery said.

Elizabeth Arden is present across three categories "� skin care, colour, and fragrances "� in India and it has notched up an impressive 70 per cent growth in the skin care and fragrances segment. In the colours segment it has grown 40 per cent year-on-year.

While the total Indian beauty products market is estimated to be around $1.5 billion, the premium segment accounts only for about $120 million, Neikhery said. "This year we expect to grow all our categories at an average 50 per cent. To a large extent, our growth will also depend on how major retail chains in India expand," he said.

Elizabeth Arden does not have any exclusive outlet in India and operates through shop-in-shop outlets in major Indian retail chains.

"If these retail chains expand their presence we also expand with them. This is one factor which drives our sales up, though we find that increasingly our sales in the country have increased also because of the fact that we are attracting more consumers into our existing outlets." Indians are increasingly spending more on beauty products in the premium segment, Neikhery pointed out.

Elizabeth Arden has also introduced 'NightTime' its latest offering in the world market in India. Endorsed by Hollywood actress Catherine Zeta-Jones, NightTime is a overnight skin renewal serum which has been developed using cutting edge research that ensures that the serum once applied works in conjunction with the skin's nightly recovery cycle.

"The night treatment market in the US has grown eight per cent year-on-year and while no data is available on the Indian market, we are pretty sure that this product will do well," Neikhery said.

In India, Elizabeth Arden is distributed by the House of Baccarose which also distributes fragrances from famous perfumery houses like Nina Ricci, Jacques Bogart, Escada and Fendi, and Chevignon in the country.