Nykaa forays into the Gulf countries through its first international alliance with Apparel Group

Indian cosmetics and fashion retailer Nykaa on Thursday said that it has partnered with Dubai-based fashion and lifestyle retail conglomerate Apparel Group to expand its footprint into the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries. Nykaa will have a 55 per cent share while the rest 45 per cent will be held by the Apparel group.

“Nykaa is unlocking a new frontier by entering into its first international strategic alliance with one of the largest retailers in the middle-east the Apparel Group to now enter our footprint into the GCC countries. We now look forward to recreating our distinct beauty retail value proposition in the GCC,” the company’s founder Falguni Nayar told reporters in Mumbai. "Our strengths will help us build a robust value proposition across UAE (United Arab Emirates), KSA (kingdom of Saudi Arabia), Qatar, Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain," she added.

Nykaa was incorporated ten years ago as a beauty e-commerce platform. Nayar added that the company will bring its proven expertise in the multi-brand retail and its distinct beauty playbook to revere the distinct trends and hyper-personalized shopping experiences in new geographies. “Their established supply chain models, fulfillment processes and partnerships with local establishments are some of the strongest in the region. In apparel group we found a partner that’s culturally very aligned to us and together we can build the business of the future in the GCC markets,” she said.

The brand name as a result of the partnership will be a new retailer brand name for the region, and will have an independent professional management team in an omni-channel retail setup. Nykaa Chief Executive Falguni Nayar also said that the two companies will together build a multi-brand beauty retailer business in seven GCC countries.

Apparel Group India is also looking to expand its brands in cities like Vadodara, Indore, Kochi, Trivandrum, Amritsar and Ludhiana. The Group overall has 1,900+ retail stores and 75+ brands on all platforms. It recently launched US-based Victoria’s Secret’s first physical store in Mumbai and has a portfolio of several other international brands like ALDO, Charles & Keith under the franchisee agreement. “Over the years we have added Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klien, ALDO, and many others to our portfolio. We consider ourselves regional experts within the retail industry with a digital-first approach a focus on sustainability. We are looking forward to both groups tap each-other’s strengths and tap into beauty and personal care market which is exponentially growing in our region,” Sima Ganwani Ved, founder and Chairwoman of the Apparel Group, said.  She said that she hopes to replicate the success that Nykaa had in India in the GCC. Apparel Group, one of the largest retailers in the Middle East based out of the UAE.

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