Jawed Habib salons on expansion spree, plans IPO

Hair-styling and hair-beauty advisor Jawed Habib Hair and Beauty plans to expand its salon network in India and overseas.

The company is also pondering over raising the capital early next year through private placement and to wrap it up by an initial public offering (IPO) on the Indian stock market.

Vinit Gupta, director and chief executive officer of the company,told Business Standard that the firm currently operates 80 salons, including ten overseas units, and wants to take their number to 200 in one year.

"We will be also consolidating our position in 28 cities where we are currently operating and perhaps will add more to the list," Gupta said, adding around 30 new outlets would be opened overseas, mainly in Mauritius, West Asia and Australia.

The company will look at both the organic and inorganic route for growth as increasing the number of outlets will be not possible just by banking on the organic route.

"We will look at local chains of beauty parlours and rebrand them as ours," Gupta added.

Ruling out the franchisee route, Gupta said the company will be manned by its own staff. "We have been training our professionals and are capable of staffing our salons ourselves," he said.

Divulging the financial support, Gupta said the company would place about 35 per cent of its equity with high net-worth individuals on a private placement basis.

This will yield the company approximately $3.5 million at $10 million enterprise value, he said. The company may consider public issue towards the end of 2007.

However, it is premature to discuss the details, he added.