Marketing massage

IN CONVERSATION

Shaily Grover, managing director, Osim (India) is a happy man. Under his direction, the brand grew 100 per cent last year and aspires to write off a turnover of Rs 100 crore before 2010 and sell more of its massage chairs priced at Rs 3.25 lakh, and related products to India's emerging millionaires. What's more, the company boasts of a turnover of Rs 40 crore within 30 months of setting shop in India with 10 outlets (the number is expected to double by 2007-end). Excerpts from his interview with PRIYANKA JOSHI

Do you thing Indians are now comfortable with the idea of buying lifestyle de-stressing options without getting hassled by price tags?

When we started Osim in India, selling a luxury massage chair from a store front and asking them to plug Rs 4 lakh on a chair was ridiculous. Today, we sell 25-30 units of massage chairs every month, all in the price range of Rs 69,000-4 lakh. Our other products, such as hand massagers, foot massagers, eye massagers and slimming belts, fall in the range of Rs 300-over a lakh price range and are doing well.

Figuratively speaking, from a modest turnover of a few lakh rupees per month, Osim (India) sells products in excess of Rs 2.5 crore and we are confident that it would touch Rs 5 crore in the next 12 months.

What are the new business areas that you plan to tap?

Lifestyle products command a market of over Rs 1,000 crore in India, growing at 20 per cent annually. Osim plans to target the Indian corporate, who own in-house gyms and fitness centres, to further its scope besides targeting the new age healthcare zones like spas, yoga centres, duty free shopping areas and even hospitals.

We also plan to have exclusive outlets in all the metros, namely Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai, and Hyderabad and eventually tier I & II cities like Pune and Ahmedabad. If all goes as planned, Osim India would be a Rs 100 crore company by 2010.

Internationally, Osim faces a lot of competition. What about India?

The worldwide market size for massage chairs is calculated to be around $2 billion and Osim has a 25 per cent market in the same. In Asia, and especially in India, Osim hardly has any competition.

Products like the iSymphonic massage chair; the iSqueeze (a foot-and-calf massager) and uZap (an oscillating massage belt) are one of the largest selling products and high-end massage chairs account for another 30 per cent of the sales.

The India arm of Osim has delivered 100 per cent growth for the company and we expect to carry forward our dominance. Out of 1,135 outlets in 28 countries, Osim India alone boasts of 39 outlets. Strategic tie-ups with Shoppers Stop, Piramyd and Godrej Lifespace stores should take the number of retail point of sales to 100 by 2008-09.