Health & Beauty Franchise UK - MUST Reads

UK’s The Massage Company expands into India, with plans for 50 franchise locations

May 23, 2019

UK-based The Massage Company (TMC) has signed a deal with FranGlobal, Asia’s largest franchise reseller, to open 50 massage centres across India, potentially delivering up to an estimated US$50m in network revenue.

TMC was founded in 2016 by Elliot Walker and Charlie Thompson, who until recently was chairman of the UK Spa Association. A membership-based massage franchise, TMC now has centres in Surrey, Kent and Buckinghamshire, UK, with more centres planned in London, Hampshire and Birmingham within the next year.

The company says that the FranGlobal deal indicates a major milestone in its growth plans. “We aim to become the global leader in membership-based massage, and we consider India to be a sizeable market which will enable us to achieve this goal,” said Thompson.

TMC has teamed up with FranGlobal – which has also partnered with the likes of global estate agency network REMAX and food travel experts SSP Group – to chart aggressive plans to “revolutionise the Indian massage sector”, starting with the launch of a centre in Delhi NCR before penetrating deeper into Tier-1 cities across India.

“Our network of over 70 brokers across India will help us to make TMC the leader in membership-based massage,” said Gaurav Marya, chair of FranGlobal.

FranGlobal plans to launch TMC at The Master Franchise Show 2019 in June, which draws more than 50,000 attendees.

UK TMC centres have so far opened with multiple pre-bookings in place and are already operating in excess of forecasted revenue.

“With the support of high calibre partners such as FranGlobal in countries across the world, we are confident that we can continue our driving wish to bring regular, high-quality massage to the mainstream, transforming views which consider it a one-off treatment, to massage becoming a vital part of a better, more balanced lifestyle,” said Walker.

The Massage Company aims to continue its penetration of international markets throughout 2019, with a specific focus on Sweden, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic.

By Jane Kitchen

Source: Leisure Opportunities

Inglot Cosmetics Ireland agrees new deal with Next

April 2, 2019

Inglot Cosmetics Ireland is expanding its UK operations with the opening of two new concession stores in retailer Next.

The new deal comes as the family-run makeup franchise, with roots in Mullingar in Co Westmeath, marks 10 years in business.

Next will allocate space to Inglot in two of its biggest stores in Manchester, the Arndale Centre and the Trafford Centre.

The first two concessions will open in May, with many more planned in the coming months.

The expansion plans follow the opening of three new standalone stores in the UK in recent months, including Inglot’s flagship store in Westfield White City in London, which opened last November.

Since it opened its first store in Liffey Valley in Dublin in 2009, Inglot now has 22 stores across Ireland and the UK.

Jane Swarbrigg, managing director of Inglot Ireland, said that while the business is strong, retail is an industry in transformation, with new channels driving growth.

“Diversification is vital for success, which is why this strategic partnership with Next is so significant, not only will it broaden our distribution and geographic reach, but it also presents an opportunity for Inglot to reach new audiences in the Next customer base,” she said.

Peter Swarbrigg, the company’s financial director, said the partnership represents a significant opportunity for the Inglot brand in the UK as Next has more than 500 stores across the UK and Ireland.

“Currently, we’re also considering standalone stores in Liverpool, Birmingham, Cardiff and Essex, which are some of the biggest shopping destinations in the UK, with considerable footfall,” he added.

Inglot is also rolling-out the brand in a number of pharmacies across Ireland, beginning with CH Chemists in Tralee, Burke’s Pharmacy in Naas and McElhinney’s in Ballybofey, Co Donegal.

“These are the first of many as we focus on the wholesale market, selling to pharmacies in regional towns in Ireland where we don’t already have an existing store,” Peter Swarbrigg said.

Source: RTE

Skin-care brand This Works expands beyond sleep-focused products

March 31, 2019

This Works, the U.K. skin-care brand founded in 2003, launched a new category of products this month called Morning Expert to build out a strategy of serving customers 24 hours a day.

The new collection, which consists of five products including a serum, an eye cream and an aromatherapy oil, is being positioned as a new chapter for the business, as This Works is best-known for its sleep- and evening-focused products. To create buzz around the line, the brand has developed a new partnership with fitness retailer Sweaty Betty in the U.K., is offering full-size product giveaways in Europe through Sephora’s subscription box, Sephora Play!, and is engaging with wellness influencers in the U.S.

“We may have focused on sleep in the past, but this wake-up [range] is now the priority of the business, because it’s the right time for the brand to be talking further about the 24-hour [story], “ said Anna Persaud, This Works CEO.

The brand declined to share Morning Expert sales expectations or current annual sales, but it shared that, overall, it experienced a 46 percent year-over-year growth in 2018 and that retail sales grew by 83 percent last year in the U.S. This Works is sold in 35 countries. For the Morning Expert line, outside of the U.K., it is targeting the Australia, Russia, Canada, the U.S. and China. The U.K. makes up 60 percent of total sales, while international markets comprise 40 percent.

At Sweaty Betty, This Works is participating in the retailer’s Wellness Wednesdays, which host health, fitness and beauty experts — most recently. Persaud made a speaking appearance at the London location on March 5. In April, This Works will begin providing samples of the brand’s aromatheapy oil to Sweaty Betty customers in all 21 London stores. In Europe, the brand is also planning on providing its full-size eye product to Sephora’s subscription box consumers in April.

In the U.S., the brand worked with wellness influencer Lauren Zoeller (@laurenzoeller; 17,800 followers) for a satellite media tour around “Waking Up Well” on March 15, where she made various local and national television news appearances. The earned media value of the campaign was around $1 million, according to This Works, but it estimated that Zoeller reached an audience of 287 million and that the ROI on the campaign was 1,100 percent.

This Works is not the only brand creating and selling products tailored for evening and morning usage. Goop, for example, offers a supplement called Morning Skin Superpowder, Clinique sells a Pep-Start Your Morning skin-care kit, and Origins has its own set, the Morning to Night Skin Care Trio. Customers are becoming more cognizant of the sleep-skin connection, said Persaud.

Despite the competition, This Works expects the morning category to become a hero part of the business, which also includes franchises focusing on evening care, on-the-go products, sleep and anti-aging, among others.

“We expect this to be the No. 2 franchise for this year, and we will continue to invest in it,” said Persaid. “I’m hopeful this franchise will herald a new era for This Works.”

By EMMA SANDLER

Source: Glossy

Stockport Firm Nominated for Major British Franchising Association Award

March 22, 2019

Window to the Womb, based in National House on Wellington Road North, has grown from one franchise clinic in 2014 to national coverage by 2019 and now scans in excess of 120,000 expectant ladies per year.

With a forecasted annual growth of 20% in 2019, many of its franchise partners are now multisite operators; all new clinics opened since 2017 are second or third sites.

Stockport based Window to the Womb nominated for Franchisor of the Year

Mark Witter, director of Window to the Womb, said:

“We are delighted to have been shortlisted in the Franchisor of the Year category at the 2019 bfa HSBC Franchise Awards 2019. These awards will provide us with a rare yet important opportunity to recognise the hard work and dedication that has been put into growing this business over the last few years.

“This rapid growth has largely been driven by the technical expertise that we have at the centre of our team, along with the success of our franchise partners, who have each worked tirelessly to create solid brand reputations in all of our locations through sheer hard work and by having a consistent and absolute commitment to delivering excellence at every touch point of the customer journey.

“We are extremely proud of what we have already achieved and to be recognised by winning this award would just be the icing on the cake.”

The awards evening is the flagship event in the franchising calendar and getting a nomination in itself is a major achievement, proving the business works ethically and in the best interests of franchisees and staff, fighting off many other companies vying for the accolade.

Pip Wilkins, CEO of the British Franchising Association (bfa), congratulated the company:

“Window to the Womb joined the bfa relatively recently, and has really shown how effectively its franchise model works in the interests of the whole network.”

Andrew Brattesani, Head of Franchising, HSBC, said:

“Window to the Womb’s nomination was really strong, showing a real commitment to ethical franchising. The story of the company’s beginnings is fantastic and I wish them the best of luck when it comes to announcing the winners on June 27.”

They will go head-to-head against five other franchise units in June from a mixture of sectors, including courier services, pet food services and a recruitment franchise.

The winner will be announced at an award ceremony to be held at the Vox, Birmingham, on June 27.

Source: Marketing Stockport

Sorbet flops in the UK, blames ‘work ethic’ and poorly trained therapists

January 29, 2019

Sorbet UK is closing down after three years.
Sorbet founder Ian Fuhr has blamed a tough trading environment, a “different” work ethic and inferior beauty therapist training.
The closure won’t affect the South Africa operations, as Sorbet UK is a different entity.

The Sorbet beauty salon concept, which proved hugely successful in South Africa, has failed in the UK.

In an interview on 702’s The Money Show on Monday evening, Sorbet founder Ian Fuhr told Bruce Whitfield that the five stores in London will close their doors after he decided to pull the plug.

The closure won’t affect the South African operations, which is owned by Long4Life. Long4Life, which is run by former Bidvest founder Brian Joffe, bought the SA Sorbet group from Fuhr in 2017. Fuhr and a group of other shareholders owned the UK business.

Fuhr blamed the closure on the “very, very difficult” trading environment in the UK. UK retail sales fell 1.3% in December, which was the biggest drop since May 2017. Local consumer sentiment is under pressure amid Brexit concerns.

Fuhr added that the UK “work ethic is a little different to ours, we struggled with the culture”.

“The education of beauty therapists is also inferior to that in South Africa, which is quite interesting,” he told Whitfield.

He acknowledged that he could also have been more proactive in addressing problems at the UK stores. The stores had 8,000 clients on their books, but in the end the monthly cost of funding the business in pounds became prohibitive, Fuhr said.

An express manicure at a Sorbet store in London cost £14 (R250), which is in line with other salons. (In South Africa, the same offering is almost half the price, at R130.)

When the London stores were launched three years ago, Fuhr hoped to replicate the South African strategy by building a strong brand in a fragmented beauty industry.

Asked if he lost a lot of money in his personal capacity, Fuhr responded: “Very much so.”

Meanwhile, the South African Sorbet business did “extremely well” last year, Fuhr says. He is still involved in the local operations and says 2018 was the best year yet in Sorbet’s history. The chain saw a “fantastic bump” in Christmas sales and franchise demand remains strong.

There are 207 Sorbet stores in South Africa, from only four in 2005, when the company was launched. In its interim results released last year, Long4Life said growth in stores was limited by suitable site availability and that franchise interest remained strong. The total cash requirement of franchisees to set up a new store is R1.6 million.

Source: Business Insider

Health & Beauty Franchises UK – Should You Buy A UK Health & Beauty Franchise?

January 14, 2019

Health & Beauty Franchises UK – the TOP 10 MUST KNOWS about finding and running a successful UK Health & Beauty Franchise.

If you have the right skill set and temperament, beauty franchises have a lot to offer to you. Here’s all you need to know about beauty salon franchises in the UK.

Search Top Health & Beauty Franchises in our Directory Now

In our blog, we often talk about various franchise business sectors. This article about spa and beauty franchises comes as a perfect fit for this series – especially given the fact it represents one of the most underrated yet undeniably vibrant section of small businesses in the UK.

Franchising is on the rise – as it has been for years now. A lot of its success is due directly to the fact that the very nature of employment is changing – and changing fast. In the UK, more and more people are looking to be self-employed, with special focus on being an entrepreneur.

The unfortunate part is that the spirit of ‘starting up’ has been somewhat lost on us, thanks to a handful of billion-dollar tech ventures. The fact is – to feed your entrepreneurial ambitions, you don’t always need to blaze a trail or break new grounds. Starting a business of your own that does the same old thing better is often enough.

To understand what we mean by this, look no further than beauty franchises around you. In this post, we will discuss how these franchises work, what sort of investment is required, what goes into making one successful and what potential downsides there exist.

Spa, Beauty and Barber Franchises UK – Crunching the Numbers

As always, our analysis of spa and beauty franchises in the UK starts with some numbers – both good and bad. To keep things fairer, we will consider the overall performance of the industry, rather than limiting ourselves to the franchising aspect of it.

The spa, hair and overall beauty industry in the UK is a bigger deal than you think. At an annual revenue of over £4 bn, it forms one of the most important arms of personal care businesses.
Being entirely consumer facing, there are obvious struggles associated with the industry. Despite these, the industry has managed to grow steadily at nearly 1.5% each year, over the last four years. This rate is just a few points above the average annual growth rate of the national economy.
The number of independent salon, spa and beauty businesses in the UK has also shown similar growth numbers. As things stood in 2018, 34,000 to 42,000 businesses can be counted as a part of this industry.
Most of these businesses are small to medium sized, with 70% employing fewer than 10 people.
The UK beauty industry employs over 150,000 people.
The most interesting stat in this regard – the beauty services industry in the UK is largely localised and fragmented, with no major national players. In fact, the 3 largest UK beauty businesses have a combined market share of less than 3%. This is an extremely promising sign for franchisees who want to run a local beauty franchise.

Sources: Ibis World, NHF NBF

Changing Social Norms and Beauty and Hair Salon Franchises

While discussing various franchise businesses and their potential, we always make it a point to dig deeper than just the numbers.

When it comes to discussing beauty and hair salon franchises in the UK, it’s important to understand how the changing social norms have contributed to the growth. The most promising sign in this regard is the annual spending – UK adults now spend over £6 bn annually on beauty treatments, hair care and other spa services. Much of this surge can be assigned to the penetration of the industry into demographics that would – not too long ago – have been considered off the table.

How Do Hair Salon and Beauty Franchises Work?

Hair and beauty franchises are service providers. While it’s true that many businesses also include products as a part of their offerings to diversify revenue streams, it can’t be denied that the performance of the ‘services’ is the decisive factor in this context.

So, to understand how these franchises work, it’s important to understand how a service-based franchise works.

Let’s outline the three building blocks of service-based franchises.

A. Market Research

One word – important.

We understand that it can be overwhelming for a person not initiated in the world of numbers, data and business to make sense of this – but we strongly recommend that you base all your future franchising decisions on this foundation. A typical hair salon and beauty franchise market research will involve the overview of operational competitors in the territory, assessment of the location, study of the target demographic and a broad-ended profitability analysis.

For example, if you wish to run a beauty franchise in in a major city centre, you may find that the market is already nearing saturation. The way out would be to focus on a non-saturated niche (oriental beauty treatments, for instance). On the other hand, if you want to run a spa franchise in a mid-sized town, you may find that there isn’t a lot of demand for niche services. So, instead, you can focus on doing better what’s working for your competitors. All these ideas will help you narrow your search down for the perfect franchisor.

B. Choosing the Right Franchisor

This can be the most critical step of the entire process. This is also a question we get asked hundreds of times each week from our readers. If you aren’t sure how to go about assessing franchisors on your shortlist, do feel free to check out our free how to choose the right franchise guide.

Once you are certain that there’s a market large enough for a new franchise, you can shortlist franchisors that operate in your area. If there aren’t any, you can ask around to see if any franchisors are willing to enter the territory.

Read and understand what the terms of their franchise agreement are, what their business model is and what sort of training, customer service and marketing support the franchisor is willing to offer. Many hair salon franchises operate on a flat-commission basis per month, with the rest adopting the royalty model. Consult with a qualified business adviser to understand the long-term impact of all options, so that you can strengthen your top line revenue.

C. Running the Business

If you get the first two steps right, this one can be a walk in the park – especially if you have prior experience.

This is not to say that running a hair salon franchise is easy. From the initial marketing difficulties to gradually, organically securing a loyal base of customers – it can be a tricky chase. Important things to remember in this aspect are: hiring well-trained staff, managing overheads, re-investing in marketing (on your own or through your franchisor) and staying innovative.

How Much Does It Cost to Buy and Run a Barber and Beauty Franchise UK?

Considering the franchise fees and the initial spend to get the business off the ground, beauty franchises can cost you a lot.

Of course, this is always subject to the location, and you can always expect to make this money back provided you have got your market research right and your services are top notch.

A conservative estimate after studying dozens of beauty and hair franchise opportunities tells us that you may need upwards of £30,000 in minimum initial investment to get started. This number can go down if you choose a franchise that caters to a specific niche like beauty and hair services for children.

The main outgoings to consider are:

Regular operational costs – insurance, rent, utilities, equipment, inventory etc.
Staff salaries
Franchisor fees (commission/royalties)
Marketing expenses
Taxes

UK Beauty Franchises and the Importance of Location

Despite being a service-based business, the location is enormously important for beauty and hair franchises.

On this front, these franchises resemble fast-food franchises – the more the footfall, the better the performance.

Therefore, it’s essential for you to explore, assess and compare various locations and territories before you buy a franchise. Ideally, your territory should have a large enough concentration of the target demographic to sustain your business, and your location should be convenient enough for them to visit.

Do You Need to Be a Licenced Beautician to Run a Beauty Franchise?

Not really. You can buy and run a beauty franchise even when you don’t have the necessary professional licence. You can, however, only allow trained and licenced staff to perform the treatments, while you oversee the business as the owner.

In fact, this is one of the reasons why franchising has grown so rapidly in the UK. You can identify opportunities in an industry that you aren’t personally familiar with, buy the right franchise, hire the right people and run your business towards profitability.

Beauty Franchises: A Perfect Home-Based Opportunity

If you are trained and possess the necessary licences, you can buy a beauty franchise and run the business right from your home.

In fact, as you may have already noticed around you, a large share of local hair salons and beauty businesses tend to be home-based. Running a franchise business from home can help you get started as quickly as possible, while bypassing many overheads that come with renting a dedicated location.

Three Key Factors That Can Make or Break a Hair Salon Franchise

While there are dozens of factors that go into the making or breaking of a business, these are the three prominent ‘pain-point’s for beauty and hair salon franchises in the UK.

A. Money Management

Clueless money management is guaranteed to take a beauty franchise downhill, simply because the business model is highly vulnerable to spending habit fluctuations of people.

So, being judicious while spending is vital. A good strategy can be to re-invest heavily in marketing and services while cutting down on unnecessary overheads, getting out of expensive debts as soon as possible and raising cheaper capital.

B. Skilled and Reliable Staff

Hire staff that bring on board various skills, can be banked upon to offer nothing but high-quality services and are passionate about what they do. Beauty businesses thrive on personal relationships, and your staff should be able to build these with your customers to secure repeat business and improve the lifetime value of each customer.

C. Cautious Aggression

Health and beauty franchises have one thing in common – the word of mouth plays a huge part.

To make sure that your beauty franchise isn’t missing out on free, passive marketing, focus on improving your social media presence, hire the services of digital marketing experts, participate in local events, maximise the marketing potential of local channels and make your business an important part of the community.

If your franchisor is taking care of marketing for you for a fee, discuss with them how you can invest more to get faster results.

Top Beauty Franchises UK

Here are some of the popular beauty and hair salon franchises in the UK*.

1. Relooking

Minimum Initial Investment: £16,000 (plus VAT)
USP: Original, new-age beauty treatments and slimming programs
Full training
Experienced network head
Exclusive territories
Location assistance
Bespoke products

2. Guinot

Minimum Initial Investment: £87,000 (plus VAT)
USP: Comprehensive beauty treatments for men and women; organic, original products
Training and support
Marketing support
Valuable brand name
Associate BFA Member

3. Rush Hair and Beauty

Minimum Initial Investment: £15,000 (plus VAT)
USP: Unisex hair care services
In business for over two decades
60+ units in operations across the UK
Full training
Growth programs
Associate BFA Member

4. Saks

Minimum Initial Investment: £25,000 (plus VAT)
USP: Industry leading hair and beauty services
Training provided
Tie-ups with leisure clubs
High-street favourite for over 30 years
Full BFA Member

*The information provided in this section is merely indicative in nature. Please contact the respective franchisor for more information.

Health, Beauty and Hair Franchises UK: The Takeaways

Research the market carefully.
Explore the scope for innovations.
Re-invest in marketing.
Hire reliable, skilled staff.
Focus on building personal relationships with customers.
Choose a location that ‘sells’.
Manage your debts carefully.

If you run a successful health and beauty franchise, we’re excited to hear about your experiences. Drop us a line to stand a chance to feature on our franchising success stories page.

Search Top Health & Beauty Franchises in our Directory Now

Inglot Ireland: what’s next for the family-run make-up franchise taking over London?

December 30, 2018

It was 2009 when a mother-daughter duo from Ireland met with Wojciech Inglot in London to discuss bringing the Polish makeup brand here.

Less than a decade later, Inglot Ireland has just opened its 20th store across UK and Ireland; this one in London – where the family franchise all began.

When serial entrepreneur Geraldine Swarbrigg and her daughter Jane met with Wojciech initially, he agreed on a partnership and took a chance on “the family from that lovely country from the west of Europe in the depth of recession”.

“We told him that if he was a partner, we’d find him the stores”. And the first Inglot Ireland store was opened in Liffey Valley in 2009.

“The standalone store wasn’t an experience as yet in Ireland. The Inglot stores were very big and bold with lots of colour,” said Jane, who takes the helm as company director alongside brother Peter.

“What was different about Inglot was that the customer could come in and the salesperson would know exactly what they were looking for [make-up]. They’d get that overall customer experience”.

Adding to Geraldine’s experience as a seasoned retailer, makeup artist Jane recognised what that the products would resonate with the younger demographic while “keeping the cost reasonable and the quality high”.

The face of Inglot Cosmetics, Jane now hosts brand roadshows and events, while running a makeup blog which has become successful on social media in its own right.

Twelve months ago, the company broke into the international market with their first UK store in Newcastle, adding to the 15 makeup bars across Ireland, in addition to the online store.

Inglot Ireland’s expansion drive continued throughout the year, with a collaboration with reality tv show Love Island contestant Kaz Crossley helping the brand stay “relevant” with its target market.

“Our London store has only opened and it’s already proving a hit; we see it becoming the flagship UK store for us,” she told Independent.ie.

“As for expansion in Ireland, we’re looking at wholesale, working with pharmacies. We didn’t look at this initially but we want to see how we can grow as quickly as possible. It’s not possible for a shop every time because of the investment required.

“One thing with business, we have to be really open minded; the industry is changing and we need to constantly up our game”.

Jane believes that now the brand is so well established, it allows more freedom for experimentation with the business: “we’re not afraid of doing that; at least take a look and try it out”.

With online sales a significant portion on the company revenue, the two sites – UK and Ireland – will be monitored over the next year so that the merging of the two runs as seamlessly as possible.

Inglot Ireland has also upped the ante in terms of what makeup courses that it offers at its academy. The newly ITEC accredited makeup artistry courses are available on a full and part time basis in Dublin, Galway and in Cork from early 2019.

“It’s not as easy to be be unique anymore, to be ahead of the pack as there is a lot more competition out there these days. We are ten years in business next year; we have expanded so quickly but we have to continually be thinking outside of the box.”

Source: Independent

Toni&Guy in Christchurch closes its doors

October 25, 2018

CHRISTCHURCH hair salon Toni&Guy has closed its doors after the franchise came to an end.

UK expansion dream for mobile spray tan firm owner

October 9, 2018

Wilde About Tan, a mobile spray tan firm, which was set up to earn its owner a bit of extra cash could soon expand across the UK as part of an ambitious programme.

Andrea Wilde, owner of Wilde About Tan, launched her business in 2012, despite reservations over the demand for her service in the Nottingham area.

But today the company is used by clients across the Midlands after Ms Wilde, of West Bridgford, enjoyed such a big period of growth she decide to franchise out the brand.

The 38-year-old, who has been nominated for a Women in Business Award in the small business category, said: “About two years ago it started getting really busy.

“I was doing about 50 tans a week by myself and I realised I couldn’t keep it up myself because I was covering most of the Midlands.

“I thought I need to either employ people or maybe need to do a franchise.

“I decided to start doing a franchise model. I have now built the team to around 13 in the Midlands and looking to get into salons and boutique hotels in the New Year.”

Ms Wilde’s business – and her franchisees – provide their service in people’s homes using a portable tent, which stops the spray tan marking their clients’ homes.

She says everyone is fully trained and it is vital the company maintains its good reputation in the region.

Ms Wilde added: “Some of the occasions people want us for is for the biggest days of their lives. It’s for wedding days, anniversaries, birthdays. If a treatment goes wrong you can’t hide it, so it has to be perfect first time.”

Ms Wilde started spray tanning while living in Essex and enjoyed some success with her model there, before moving to Nottingham 11 years ago.

She was involved in different work when she first moved to the area before deciding to start up her business full time in the city.

The brand is now available in the Midlands and in Chester, with the additional aim of opening up in salons and boutique hotels. But Ms Wilde’s vision for Wilde About Tan’s future goes much further.

She said: “We have already started launching out towards the more of the UK and I really want to expand that. I want to be all over.”

Source: Nottingham Post

OBoticario, the world’s largest cosmetics franchise, is set for GCC market entry by partnering with Millennial Capital Ltd

April 9, 2018

The first OBoticario branded store in the UAE is expected to be open in September 2018 in Mirdif City Center.

Dubai: OBoticario, the Brazilian based cosmetics, fragrances and skin care company has agreed to license its exclusive brand rights to Millennial Capital Ltd, an emerging retail, consumer, and wellness investment and management firm for a period of 5 years. The first OBoticario branded store in the UAE is expected to be open in September 2018 in Mirdif City Center, followed by a second location by the end of the year (2018). OBoticario and Millennial Capital Ltd have agreed on the UAE development plan which will include a minimum of 5 locations for branded stores, online partnerships with leading e-Commerce portals, and stores in stores targeting the departmental stores and pharmacies. It is expected that no later than Q4 2019, Millennial Capital will aim to expand OBoticario operations in Saudi Arabia.

The global beauty and personal care sector is estimated at USD 444 bn as per Euromonitor data, with both Brazil and Middle East expected to grow at a CAGR of 9%. In the Middle East, beauty and personal care market, fragrances are estimated at USD 6 billion, the largest and fastest growing category. OBoticario’s leading fragrance brands Malbec, Lily and Floratta retain international market leading positions in men and woman categories.

OBoticario is the second largest Brazilian cosmetic company with a 20% market share in Latin America. Globally, it has 4,070 stores in Brazil, Portugal, Colombia, Bolivia, Paraguay, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Japan. OBoticario is the largest cosmetic franchise in the world. As of 2016, the company generated USD 4 billion in revenue, employed 30,000 people and produced c. 300 million units. Due to its strong marketing, product innovation, social media activation the group has been able to report a double-digit growth in revenue for the last 5 years.Commenting on the UAE launch for OBoticario, Andrea Gutierrez, Grupo Boticario said: ”We are very excited with the partnership with Millennial Capital Ltd. and with the idea of bringing our products and new store concept to the region, we see a big potential in the UAE and other GCC markets and we believe our brand will add with a differentiated value proposition for our customers in this part of the world.”

OBoticario brand DNA relies on the story of its funder (a pharmacist) who 40 years ago started to mix natural ingredients to produce beauty products in a small pharmacy in Curitiba-Brazil, since then, the brand´s products are the result of an alchemy of unique and exotic ingredients such as quinoa grains or lily extracts obtained through an ancient perfume extract process (enfleurage) today used by very few perfume producers around the world. The brand does no animal testing and invests 1% of revenues in forests conservation.Andreea Danila, Founder and Managing Director of Millennial Capital Ltd. stated: “We are delighted to partner with the world largest cosmetics franchise and introduce them in the UAE. We are confident that OBoticario’s international expertise coupled with Millennial Capital’s deep local knowledge and omni-channel operational excellence, will enable the launch in UAE to become a success story to be replicated shortly across other GCC geographies”

About Millennial Capital Ltd.:
Millennial Capital Ltd, established in 2016 by Andreea Danila, is one of the fastest growing investment management and advisory firms in the GCC. The group was set up by a group of reputable shareholders in the GCC and has established itself as one of the first specialist retail, consumer and wellness investor, with a fully integrated investment, management and operations team. Millennial Capital Ltd. portfolio includes Millennial Capital Advisors, Millennial Urban Footwear Trading, Millennial Star Cosmetics Trading LLC and a recently launched initiative Millennial Wellness Ltd.

Source: Zawya