The newly opened Nykaa store in the city is every make-up junkie's candy shop. And it's a candy party now that Nykaa has opened its store in the city at Palladium and their first partnership store with Lifestyle at VR Mall, Jawaharlal Nehru Road.
Why did it take so long for a store to launch in Chennai, considering it is a metro?
Chennai has always been on the top of our priority list to open a store. We were waiting to find the right location, and we finally found a place at Palladium which was the perfect fit for us.
What are your expectations from your followers here?
We expected nothing short of a great response from Chennai, and so far in a month of launching, the response has been beyond amazing. It has been one of the best launches so far, and for a strong market like Chennai we hope to see strong growth and good consumption.
The weather here is unfavourable for most skin types considering it's hot through most part of the year. Can we expect a Chennai-specific collection of cosmetics and skincare?
Yes, we are going to curate more location-specific products. We will also use the data we have on products that are more geographically relevant and use that to drive curation in stores.
In your recent collection, Matte to Last, a shade is inspired from Chennai, erstwhile Madras. What did you keep in mind while attributing the brown nude shade to the city?
Nykaa Matte to Last Liquid Lipstick collection has shade names inspired from beautiful cities in India. We matched each shade to a city that best encompasses the culture, vibe, and essence of the city's persona. The coffee brown shade that represents Chennai has taken inspiration from the delicious swirls of ‘Madras-kaapi’. We wanted to bring to customers shades that evoke a feeling. This collection is a tribute to the beautiful heritage of Indian cities and tribute to the contemporary Indian woman.
What is the USP of Nykaa.com?
Nykaa has a unique position in the market, with a depth of offerings within the beauty, make-up, skin and hair care, and wellness space, with 850+ brands. It is the only online and offline destination for such a large inventory of beauty and wellness brands in the country offering a wide selection to customers. We also believe in content, and we make sure to put content throughout the website and in our stores as we strongly feel that it creates better customer engagement. We create constant engagement and forge education on ‘beauty know-how’ through tutorials, product reviews, guides, videos and blogs.
You are predominantly an online brand. Why and when did you decide to make the shift and launch physical stores?
We strongly believe that Nykaa customers demand an online and offline format. Customers are happy to buy products online, but the omnichannel model allows them to go in to a store and have a sensory experience which they can’t online. The store gives customers the opportunity to see, try and experience the product.
How does your clientele and their preferences vary when compare to online and store shopping?
We do see a difference in shopping habits of customers online vs offline. Offline we see a higher average order value as compared to online, so customers do end up spending more at the store on average. The type of products bought online and offline also vary. We see customers coming in to the store to try on foundations, concealers and other face products since they can see what the product looks like tried on. Something else we have noticed is that new brands do really well in the store since people can experience brands they’ve not heard of before and get familiar with them.
In the past two years, you have built your brand with your own set of products. Give us a glimpse into what goes on before you decide to launch a product.
We pride ourselves in being a brand that is driven by listening to customers closely and providing them exactly what they want. We are constantly talking to customers via our marketing channels and in person to understand their thoughts, demands and opinions on our products. We recently launch Nykaa Matte to Last Liquid Lipsticks, and that entire range of lipsticks was curated along with our customers. The journey started with us asking our customers for their inputs: what colours would they like to see us launch? What features were they looking for in a liquid lipstick? What type of brush? What price point? What mood would each shade invoke? Our fabulous customers responded in full-force, and 3,000 customer inputs later, we had conceptualised our dream product. So we really are a brand that takes inspiration from our customers, and strives to give them products that they want.
Your social media marketing plays a major role in bringing in the clients. What kind of strategies do you work on?
Social media is one of our preferred forms of communication to interact with our customers. We are always thinking social first and creating content that is social media friendly. We like to use social media to show our customers the products we have in the most interesting, and engaging ways. Our content is relatable, and spans over makeup tutorials, swatch videos, product images, how-to videos, beauty hacks, reviews and recommendations.
What other products can we expect from the Nykaa team?
Under Nykaa, we have launched a range of colour cosmetics, spanning a wide variety of categories (eyes, lips, face and nails). We are working on completing our makeup offerings by adding more products, colours and shades. Under Nykaa Naturals, Nykaa has forayed into essential oils, soaps and fragrances. We will continue to launch a comprehensive mix of products across various price points and categories.
Five must-haves in every Chennai woman's beauty kit
The Face Shop Chia Seed No Shine Intense Hydrating Cream
Nykaa Matte to Last Liquid Lipstick
Huda Beauty Desert Dusk Eyeshadow Palette
Milani Stay Put Waterproof Eyeliner Pencil
Kama Ayurveda Pure Rose Water
A brand you wish to have on board
Glossier
A make-up trend that will never go out of style
The glowing, dewy skin look.