Indian men make L’Occitane glow

L’Occitane, the $612 million French skin care brand is surprised that its men’s skincare range in India has

outperformed other established global markets as it got a higher percentage in India than its international average. This is in line with the trend seen in the apparel category where men’s section contributed to the bulk of global luxury brands’ revenue in India. They get almost 16 per cent of business from men in India compared to just six per cent from the other markets. Asia-Pacific President Andrew J Hoffman, L’Occitane says they have a lot of products, like shower gel, hand cream and candles, that are not for men but they still buy them. The popular categories in the men’s range are aftershave, shaving cream and the skin care range.

The company believes that despite the huge potential, it is difficult to be profitable in India due to high duty structure on imported luxury cosmetics. Talking about the brand’s presence in India, Hoffman said, the Indian market is complicated and they are still learning. Anyone who thinks can make a quick buck in India is in for a bad surprise. This is a market, which takes time to grow. However, they have seen 60-70 per cent growth in business here since inception. L’Occitane currently has three stores in Delhi and plans to open shop-in-shop concepts in Kolkata and Bangalore and stores in Mumbai and Ludhiana by next year.

L’Occitane entered India in 2006 through a distribution agreement. It renewed its focus on India by forming a joint venture with Kolkata based-Beauty Concepts in 2009, with 51:49 shares. Inspired by the response, the brand plans to launch more collection in the men’s skin care range in the country by March next year.