Baccarose: B. Anthony

BACCAROSE

INTERVIEW WITH BIJU ANTHONY, CEO & ED, BACCAROSE PERFUMES AND BEAUTY PRODUCTS PVT LTD

EXPORT MAGAZINE: What happened in 2020? BA: As CEO & ED of Baccarose Perfumes and Beauty Products Pvt Ltd, this was indeed special - it was a homecoming, when I came back to lead the group from December 2020 with an absolute mandate from the shareholders to ensure we remain and continue our dominance of the imported beauty business along with familiar partners, brands, and most importantly the most significant resource of an organization–The Baccarose Team whom I had worked with previously. The familiarity and known processes made it easier for me to streamline and take charge of the operations from day one.

how to be a leader of distribution in a challenging market

EM: Let’s talk about the Baccarose organization… BA: Baccarose is the largest luxury fragrance distribution company with clients such as department store retailers and ecommerce players, where we distribute our partner products for the end consumer. With 55 own brick-and-mortar stores in 18 cities across the country, our retail focus Parcos now extends its reach online for its consumers. Parcos provides an extensive selection of more than 50+ international luxury brands like Carolina Herrera, Gucci, Issey Miyake, Versace, Paco Rabanne, Dolce & Gabbana, Clarins, and more. Parcos’ brand assortment includes Fragrance, Makeup, and Skincare products. This online presence helps our customers buy international brands directly from our online platforms and also through other beauty aggregators. Parcos has always worked very closely with influencers in India to nurture international partnerships. From the consumers side, with a special focus towards the youth willing to invest in self-grooming, we target customers across age groups. EM: What are Baccarose’s main objectives? BA: Building a sustainable and profitable organization, where people have fun at work and learn every day on the job is what I have always strived for in all the organizations that I have led in my career. My largest learning over these decades has been that India is an execution market and not a strategy market and having the right partner in India is critical for any luxury brand to succeed. The biggest have failed or have limited presence because of going on their own, or not having the right partner in India. Hence investing in right teams, processes and bringing international experiences. We have strategically defined the growth strategy over the next few years with distinct levers of growth for Baccarose. We have also picked our partners in each channel who we will work with strategically to grow the industry. Creating a robust digital ecosystem to propagate and deliver seamless and efficient service via Parcos.com, and aggressively building our own brand Chambor to spearhead the massive segment in the colour segment and re-establish dominance

Baccarose has been a leader in the distribution of international luxury beauty brands since the last 40 years with a 60% market share, with an extravagant roster of fragrance, skincare & makeup brands. From establishing the very first fragrance counter in a departmental store in India in 1984, it is now present in 5,000+ points of sale in the country, with 380+ consumer-facing counters, 46 standalone Parcos stores, 29 offices, and 16 warehouses with trained consultants in retail stores all over India, giving the customer the best-in-class experience. The retail brand Parcos, established in 2004, has been synonymous with luxury, prestige, and authentic beauty products. To deliver a holistic omnichannel experience to its consumers, Parcos has recently launched Parcos.com, its online shopping destination for luxury fragrances and beauty, products. With 55 stores and slated to grow to 100 by the end of 2023. The Parcos omnichannel ecosystem is the largest fragrance player in the retail front as well in India.

are on the cards. We are also developing licensee brands and launching more owned brands and evaluating market spaces where our presence can be established with strategic launches. From 22 brands earlier we now have approximately 70 brands and hence expansion is key with more international brands coming into our foray and leveraging our distribution.

EM: Which has been your strategy during pandemic? BA: We used the time during the recent pandemic to rethink our business strategy, to realign, reboot, and transform ourselves into a more lean and efficient organization. There were apprehensions as the market conditions were uncertain and the beauty industry globally was hit due to the pandemic, and just as markets were starting to recover in the early months of last year, we were hit by the second wave, or lockdown. On the other hand, there is also the opportunity to use a situation to look for new opportunities, new beginnings with the new fiscal. We launched Parcos.com during this time and also our first of its kind - annual property for awarding beauty influencers, called Parcos Beauty Influencers Awards 2022.

EM: Do you think that the distribution system has changed tremendously? BA: The current distribution of Luxury Beauty products is experiencing a shift from being predominantly available across departments and lifestyle stores to going digital with a part of audiences shifting to online buying and speciality beauty formats for a better experience and convenience. Luxury brands will still seek formats like Parcos or standalone stores in order not to dilute brand equity. For luxury skin and colour, today India does not have too many formats that can house brands in their full glory. We are developing a new Parcos Luxe format that will give these bands the retail ambience their customers need. The department store retailers in India unlike other countries have been unable to upgrade their stores and the beauty category in their stores, and hence the format is a declining format for our industry. Consumer have moved to purchasing beauty products either from speciality formats or from ecommerce, where they are able to experience beauty brands and especially luxury brands in their full glory. Tier 2 and 3 markets have shown distinct traction for Prestige beauty products and with the growing demand, brands would need to be online to be able to deliver and therefore expand the market via online presence. Omnichannel experience is core and now the consumer wants the flexibility to experience brands both in the store as well as to have the liberty to buy online. The growing consumption from across consumer strata will help expand the pie and fuel growth for the Luxury Beauty business. The aspirational middle class is now spending on lifestyle and luxury as some of the prevalent modes of entertainment for them have been muted on account of COVID. There is also an increased self-awareness that has come about from the myriad of content created by influencers who are now driving purchase decisions, impulsive purchases, and trials of several newer categories unheard of in the past. There is a considerable shift in the distribution formats for the Luxury Beauty industry. From Beauty Assistants driving advocacy now, it’s the beauty influencers who are fuelling demand and driving purchase decisions and trials via social media. Consumers have evolved with international exposure and an influx of content across various digital screens. Whilst luxury is still niche there is an increasing aspirational demand generated from the tier 2 and 3 markets over the last five years. Consumers are now a more evolved set with distinct tastes and self-expression is key which has given additional traction to fashion and beauty categories. Even new alliances, market tie-ups, giving a distribution platform to celebrities and Indian brands could be a suitable way to segment and augment the beauty consumption market in India.

EM: When it comes to your organization, what are you most proud of? BA: We started Baccarose to give the Indian consumer the experience that is required for storytelling when experiencing luxury brands. Very few retail formats today offer that to the consumer, as with large format stores, adjacencies and merchandising have limitations. Parcos has established its presence across the country, servicing customers across Metros, Tier-1, and Tier-2 cities and we are planning to expand further from bigger metro airports to even smaller airports as Guwahati, Siliguri, Coimbatore and others. At Baccarose, we aim to deliver an omnichannel consumer experience. Apart from providing a holistic shopping experience, Parcos looks at translating brand equity offline to online with the brand’s dedicated shop-in-shop concept, gifts with purchase, and much more. Community engagement through curated content IPs with influencers, educational content, social media, and more, is in the roadmap ahead.

EM: Let’s talk about the Parcos Beauty Influencer Awards 2022… BA: We recently announced 22 winners of Parcos Beauty Influencer Awards 2022, at a glamorous awards night in Mumbai, in the presence of eminent celebrities. The winners will be inducted into the ‘Elle Hall of Fame’ for Parcos Beauty Influencer Awards and be offered a brand partnership with Parcos. The associate partners of this event were Jimmy Choo Parfums, Shiseido, Carolina Herrera, and Chambor. With over 80mn worth media reach and across 180 media channels online, offline and social, we have been able to create a significant buzz in the 1st year. And we hope to make it even bigger next year and garner content creators for effective buzz on our brands. The award has crafted a journey of its own since the last few months of the announcement. Whether the initial entries, the jury shortlist, or the public voting; at each stage, we have received a great response from the beauty influencer community in India helping us reinstate the faith in the veracity, usefulness, and mere establishment of such awards that can help youngsters of today create a journey of their own in their loved industry. Claudia Stagno