 Kaya Skin Clinic attracts more men
 Kaya Skin Clinic, part of Marico Industries, has said more men in the south were turning towards its clinics for beauty care treatments and it would increase its number of clinics in the country close to 50 during this year.
In Chennai, where its has three clinics, about 30 of per cent of its clients were men. In Bangalore, it was about 35 per cent and in a couple of places it was up to 50 per cent.
“Since Chennai and Bangalore are the hot destinations for IT and BPO firms, more and more young men from these companies are travelling a lot and meeting international clients. Hence, they turn towards beauty clincs to get a better look,” Kaya Skin Clinic CEO Rakesh Pandey said in
Chennai.
 “We recently launched dark circle reduction service, which had phenomenal response in the south. There is a need for skin care services and we address it in a very scientific way,” he added.
Started in December 2002, Kaya today has 32 clinics, all company owned, in all metros and major cities. Encouraged by good response to its services, it is planning to increase its number of clinics close to 50 during this year. The expansion will include tier-2 cities.
Asked about the business model of Kaya Clinic, he said its model showed a lot of promise
because the operational break-even of each clinic was being reached in 3-5 months.
Kaya, which has handled over 40,000 clients, reported a turnover of Rs 20 crore last year and is aiming to touch Rs 50 crore by the end of this fiscal.
At 34 EBO locations, Kaya Skin Clinic is probably one of the largest retail chains in India.
“We look for spaces that are private, secluded and are generally not high street. Our locations are largely ‘stand alone/destination’ stores. Hence most of our stores are ‘stand alone’ properties or have non-traditional formats, such as first floor locations,” said
Pandey.
 “We look for a space that is high on consumer access and convenience (parking, etc.) and is yet private and secluded. Visibility is an added plus if we get it, but not a pre-requisite.
“Each clinic is about 1,000 to 1,200 sq ft, but down south, we are experimenting with some larger formats as well. Especially in cities like Hyderabad, where we find that customers do travel into a location such as Banjara Hills at least once a week, we are experimenting with a larger format clinic to start with, which caters to the entire city as opposed to having two locations. But eventually, we may be looking at another location in
Secunderabad.”
As part of the solutions, Kaya also has a range of skin care products which are the result of extensive skin care research in dermo-cosmetic laboratories based in France, the UK & US. These are not only used during the skin care services but are also available for post-service usage as a follow-up to the service undertaken at the clinic.
R Rangaraj
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