International Saloon Franchise

Mumbai, International luxury salons are trying to woo Indians with world class service at Indian prices.

A haircut for which you have to shell out Rs 6,000 at the Jean Claude Biguine salon in Paris costs Rs 1,100 at its licensee-owned outlet in Mumbai.

Considering that most Indian consumers are reluctant to cough up a premium for discretionary services such as a haircut, American and French salon brands such as Warren Tricomi and Jean Claude Biguine are willing to shed their premium pricing despite being high-end brands.
Rentals

Dharmendra Manwani, Founder and CEO, Jean Claude Biguine, said, “Our services are nearly 70 per cent cheaper than those offered at our salons in France. In India, we have positioned ourselves as premium brand with accessible prices. It is not a rosy market as rentals continue to be the largest cost in this business.”

But once Jean Claude Biguine enters smaller markets such as Pune and Ahmedabad, it would be able to lower prices further.

Manwani added, “Rentals would reduce if we went to tier 2 markets. We would pass on the benefits of reduced rentals and prices would be softer by another 10 per cent in these smaller metros. We have to democratise the brand and become a neighbourhood store.” After completing five years in India, today each of the 10-odd salons generates average revenues of Rs 3.5 crore and has achieved break even at an operational level. It is now poised to add 50 more salons in the next five years.
Value-conscious

Meanwhile, American salon brand Warren Tricomi has also adopted a similar pricing strategy. “India is a value-conscious country and we cannot afford to out price ourselves. Our services would be 60 per cent cheaper here than in the US,” said Darpan Sanghvi, Managing Director, Sanghvi Brands, the master franchise for Warren Tricomi. The brand was launched across the properties of the Leela Hotels and has recently decided to have its first high street location store in South Mumbai.

On the other hand, Indian salon company Jawed Habib Hair and Beauty is graduating from its mass formats such as Hair Xpreso to a luxury format under JH Bevels. At the launch of JH bevels, Jawed Habib, Chairman and Managing Director, Jawed Habib Hair and Beauty, said, “Why should be just restricted to the masses? JH Bevels is going to be our first high-end salon and will be company-owned unlike the rest of our formats which are run by franchises.”

Another Indian chain Enrich has also segmented its salons to make sure the consumers are given a choice across price points. Vikram Bhat, CEO, Enrich Salons, said, “Among our 35-odd salons in Mumbai, we have upgraded five and charge a 10 per cent premium and these are positioned as our more upmarket salons. Not all consumers can afford to pay a premium and they can always go to our less expensive formats.” The 16-year-old chain has 52 salons across the country and has already gone in for its first round of PE funding.