All is not well at Indian cosmetics and fashion e-commerce major Nykaa. Recently, the company’s chief marketing officer (CMO) Shalini Raghavan along with six other executives have resigned since April, the company said, as per a Reuters report. The report added that the key departures have come as competition intensifies in the fast-growing sector.
Nykaa’s founder and CEO Falguni Nayar stepped up to take direct oversight of the marketing function, given its criticality. Raghavan was the CMO at L’Oréal India for around two years before she joined Nykaa. The development comes at a time when the beauty and personal care space is India is currently witnessing intense competition as more consumers especially smaller towns are logging in on the internet to buy personal care products.
In recent years, Nykaa has adeptly protected itself from larger e-commerce players like Flipkart and Amazon. However, the landscape is shifting as the beauty and personal care industry becomes a high-stakes battleground, currently estimated at $17-18 billion. Projections from financial services company Avendus Capital indicate that this market could surge to $28-30 billion over the next four years. As competition intensifies, Nykaa faces new challenges in maintaining its market position.
In February, Flipkart-backed online fashion portal Myntra said that it is set to expand offerings under its beauty portfolio, adding over 50 international brands this year as it capitalises on growing demand for such products.
A month later, Reliance announced its online and offline beauty debut, under the Tira brand.
In May, Amazon Beauty has announced the launch of its Global Beauty Store that brings together a curated selection of 60 over international beauty brands and over 5,000 curated products. From renowned French skincare brands to emerging international cosmetics brands such as Paula’s Choice, Farmacy, Anomaly, Caudalie, L’Occitane, CosRX, Laneige, Innisfree, Makeup Revolution, Chopard, Paul Mitchell among many other brands.
While Falguni Nayar led Nykaa launched in 2012 certainly has the first mover advantage, it is now facing the heat from competition. Its employees are being reportedly poached while the company is dealing with its own set of challenges. This is being reflected in Nykaa’s fashion vertical as well. In March, five senior executives resigned from the company. Among the exits are chief commercial operations officer Manoj Gandhi, chief business officer of fashion division Gopal Asthana, and chief executive officer of wholesale business Vikas Gupta – all executives of Nykaa.
Shuchi Pandya, a vice president of Nykaa fashion division’s owned brands business, and Lalit Pruthi, a vice president of finance at the fashion unit, have also resigned.
A Nykaa spokesperson told Reuters it sees “some of these mid-level exits as a part of the standard annual appraisal and transition process, wherein, people exit due to performance or to pursue other opportunities.”
In the race for a slice of India’s rapidly expanding $16 billion beauty and personal care market, Nykaa faces formidable competition from major Indian conglomerates like Tata Group and Reliance, both with significant interests in the beauty sector. These companies are vying for a foothold in the world’s second-most populous country, adding to the intense competition in the industry.