Snap Fitness prepping for wider presence in India

US-headquartered health and fitness chain Snap Fitness, which entered the Indian market in 2008 with a centre in Bengaluru, is looking to expand its India footprint to 300 centres in three years.

Snap Fitness, which claims to be among the first to offer 24/7 access to members, along with nutrition and diet counselling, currently operates 60 fitness centres across 11 cities nationwide. It has centres in three formats — 3,000 sq ft, 4,000 sq ft and 5,000 sq ft, and has a user base of 60,000 members.

The chain has introduced two-fitness related products — the International Access Card, which gives members access to any of the 2,500 Snap Fitness centres located in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, UK, Mexico and Egypt; and Myzone, a wi-fi enabled area in the centres that allows members to track their workouts and monitor their heart rates via devices.

A free Myzone app allows members to stream and review the activity results from a smartphone, anywhere.

“India was the first country I entered into outside of the US in 2008,” said Peter Taunton, Global CEO and President, Snap Fitness. “While we are growing at a steady pace, we could grow much faster if entrepreneurs who want to be our business partners have access to loans from large banking institutions at fair interest rates.”

It costs ₹1.6 crore to set up a Snap Fitness centre, he explained. “The entrepreneur has to contribute 30 per cent, the rest of the capital has to be raised from banks or other financing institutions, which is not forthcoming,” he added.

In sharp contrast to the situation in India, Australia/NewZealand, a market that the company entered three years after India, already has 230 centres, he pointed out.

The $2-billion fitness and wellness market in India, which is dominated by weight loss and beauty treatment services, is growing at a healthy clip of 25-30, fuelled by rising income levels and changing lifestyles, said Dr Vikram BM, owner of Force Fitness Pvt Ltd, which holds the master franchise for Snap Fitness in India.

Polish make-up brand Inglot eyes 100 stores in India by 2020

Polish cosmetics brand Inglot aims to ramp up presence and marketing in India with plans to reach 100 stores by 2020. Currently, the premium cosmetics brand has 14 stores in the country concentrated in metros like Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru and tier 2 cities like Ludhiana and Chandigarh.

The 30-year-old brand is present in close to 80 countries with 600 stores globally. It entered India in 2008 through a franchise partnership with Major Brands. Apart from being present on ground through stores in malls and shopping centres, the brand was also available on the franchise partner’s portal. Last year, Inglot became available on Falguni Nayar’s beauty and cosmetics portal Nykaa.

Zbigniew Inglot, chairman of the board of directors, Inglot says, “While we are a 30-year-old company, we started global expansion only 10 years back. We started with Canada, the Middle East and US and now are available in 80 countries. In our experience, some markets need time and research and after seven years in India, we are ready to ramp up our presence.”

He adds that at a global level, the brand opens 1.5 to 2 stores a week currently. In India, over the next four years, the brand will open nearly two stores a month in order to achieve its target of 100 stores by 2020.

The range of cosmetics from Inglot is priced in the premium price band starting at Rs 600 for nail paints to Rs 5,500 for a make-up palette. The brand has developed the concept of ‘freedom system’ where users can buy single ‘squares’ of make-up and assemble their own palettes. In this case, single squares start at Rs 400 and the physical palette that holds these squares start at Rs 500.

Tushar Ved, president, Major Brands India says, “The brand has seen a growth of 18 to 20 per cent over the past seven years. Going forward, we shall introduce new products, invest in on-ground marketing through makeover activities and advertise in print. We do not plan to have tiered pricing for India and intend to continue playing in the premium cosmetics category since it is directly linked to the quality of the raw materials used at Inglot’s manufacturing unit.”

The company flagged off its marketing campaign on Women’s Day in Mumbai through a successful attempt to create a world record for most people painting their fingernails simultaneously. Around 1,328 women participated in this event painted their nails with the range of Inglot nail enamels. The brand broke the previous record of 1,156 people painting nails simultaneously which was created by Taiwan Nail Association at Banqiao Stadium, New Taipei City, Taiwan on 27 April 2011. Jack Brockbank from the Guinness World Records was present at the event to validate the record.

Inglot will be customising some of its products for the Indian market through shades that compliment the Indian skin tone, and any products that may be specific to the market. It has already developed a kohl pencil after feedback from the Indian franchise partner and will continue exploring new avenues for customisation.

The Fashion TV brand has made a foray into health and beauty services with a salon in Delhi.

Binge-watching F TV is something most of us wouldn't like confessing to. Then came along the much sought-after F Bar. Now, it's your hair and beauty that the F franchise is looking to cater to.

The brand launched its first flagship salon, titled F Salon, in New Delhi on Saturday. The 2,000 square feet, 14-seater salon is located in Rajouri Garden, West Delhi.

"We are proud to announce the first-ever F Salon by Fashion TV in India. We view ourselves not just as a salon, but an experiential brand. The idea is to provide high-quality beauty and wellness services to our customers," Rajan Vohra, director, Fashion TV India, said in a statement.

"F Salon's potpourri of beauty and salon services are at par with international standards and will take beauty and makeovers trends a notch up," said Tamanna Singh, master franchise of F Salon, north India and co-owner.

The salon offers an array of services including luxurious facial and body therapy; haircuts, perms, hair colouring, highlights, waxing, manicures, pedicures and it also specialises in pre-wedding and bridal makeup by internationally trained staff. The launch of the salon saw FTV models flaunting makeovers and hair couture.

Lenskart plans to expand operations through franchise model

Online eyewear retailer Lenskart, which claims to be the largest in the country in terms of daily items shipped, plans to expand by opening 1,000 brick-and mortar shops through the franchise model. These shops, which will also enable delivery, service and return of products ordered online, will enable the company to expand quickly while remaining asset light, CEO Peyush Bansal  said. 

According to Bansal, the eyewear category is highly fragmented and dominated by small neighbourhood stores. The online retailer ships close to 1,20,000 orders a month, which is "too high compared to the competitors", he said.

The Titan Company, which runs eyewear, watch and jewellery outlets, had 1,266 stores at the end of December. Reliance Retail operates India's largest chain, with more than 3,000 stores in 371 cities. Lenskart, based in Faridabad, already operates 150 stores. A majority of its business now comes from its mobile apps and stores, unlike last year when all orders were placed online through desktops, Bansal said. 

The company plans to open another 150 outlets in the coming months and hopes to "reach the 1,000 mark very quickly", said Bansal. Apart from catering to demand from offline customers, the partner network of franchise stores would offer supplementary services for online consumers. 

"The same partner network allows for many things. It services the online orders via home delivery, takes care of the logistics and payments, provides home service," said Bansal. He added that the company won't have to spend on setting up the stores and these shops in turn would help expand business.

Lenskart has about 170 employees on the ground in seven cities who conduct about 1,000 eye exams at home every day. "We hope to expand to 55 to 60 cities in the next six months," added Bansal. 

The firm received funding of about $22 million in a Series-C round led by private equity firm TPG Growth, Hong Kong-based TR Capital and existing investor IDG Ventures earlier this year. Lenskart is already clocking a revenue "run rate" of Rs 300 crore and hopes to reach the Rs 2,500 crore mark in the next four years. Although it is well funded, it could do with more funding to invest in its backend infrastructure and its manufacturing capacity. 

Tea Trails opens its outlet in Chennai

Tea Trails, a fast growing tea caf chain in the country, launched its first outlet in Chennai. Noted cine director KS Ravi Kumar inaugurated the outlet.

Zone8 Tea World Pvt Ltd that runs Tea Trails brand cafes in the country is expanding fast and aims to be present pan India in coming period. Chennai is the latest city where it has forayed.

The Company forayed last month in South India with its first caf in Hyderabad’s Banjara Hills. It also marked the brands first outlet outside the Mumbai metro region.

"With the launch of Chennai caf, we are now present in the two cities in South India. We are expanding our franchisee network to be a pan India player. South India is a major market for us and we are confident that this Master Franchise Agreement in Tamil Nadu will give us the required presence across Tamil Nadu, said Tea Trails co-founder and CEO Sanjeev S Potti.

The company has partnered with Slimlines food and Beverages Pvt Ltd to be its master franchisee for Tamil Nadu.

Tea Trails offers a gourmet tea drinking experience to the discerning consumer and brings to India the fast emerging international trend with a desi twist. It offers carefully curated range of the finest teas from Indian and around the world.

Launched in late 2013 by a group of entrepreneurs with successful track records, Tea Trails Caf has embarked on an interesting journey of changing the rules of the game in the caf space.

Lite Bite inks agreement with Burger King for outlets in airports

Lite Bite Foods Ltd, promoted by Dabur scion and entrepreneur Rohit Aggarwal, has inked an agreement with Florida-based QSR chain Burger King Inc to set up the latter’s stores in airports and other travel retail platforms.

The company said it is also exploring to take the partnership to high street location.

Burger King entered India in 2013 through a joint venture with PE firm Everstone Capital. The PE firm had signed a long-term master franchise and development deal that includes sub-franchise rights in India.

Rohit Aggarwal, Director, Lite Bite Foods, said, “We have entered into an independent agreement with the Burger King Inc directly to set up outlets in airports. We plan to have three outlets to begin with”.

As part of the agreement, Lite Bite Foods will soon be launching the first franchise outlet of Burger King at the Mumbai airport. This will be Burger King's first outlet at an airport in the country.

Aggarwal said that the three outlets will entail an investment of ₹8-9 crore with stores ranging from 1,200-1,500 sq feet.

Asked if the company is also looking to set up stores in high streets, Aggarwal said the company is evaluating the possibility. “We may look at it but will have to do that in conjunction with Everstone who is the master franchise for Burger King in India,” he added.

Domino's Opens 1,000th Store in India

Domino's Pizza, the recognized world leader in pizza delivery, celebrated the grand opening of its 1,000th store in India, Domino's fastest-growing international market, last week. The store, located in Unity One Mall, Janakpuri, Delhi, opened on Feb. 5.  India has more Domino's stores than any other market outside the United States and Domino's is the largest pizza brand in India. 

"This is truly a remarkable accomplishment," said Patrick Doyle, Domino's president and CEO. "India just opened its 900th store this summer. The fact that they are now at 1,000 stores half a year later is a testament to the opportunity for growth in India and the commitment of our master franchisee, Jubilant FoodWorks, to serving customers in this important market."

Shyam and Hari Bhartia, the brothers who founded Jubilant FoodWorks, first brought Domino's to India in 1995. They had a commitment and a vision for what the brand could be for customers in India, including excellent food quality and customer service, along with tremendous opportunities for the people the brand employs. They created an organization with around 30,000 team members, where a delivery driver can move up the ranks and become a store manager within two years.

"For over 20 years Domino's has focused on bringing the best pizza to our customers in India.  The team's focus on menu variety, exciting flavors and quality ingredients has helped to make Domino's the leading pizza brand in India," said Richard Allison, president of Domino's International. "We're proud to celebrate their tremendous growth and outstanding success, which has been built by committed leadership and the hard work of thousands of team members across the country."

Domino's operates in more than 80 international markets and had global retail sales of more than $8.9 billion in 2014, comprised of more than $4.1 billion in the U.S. and nearly $4.8 billion internationally. Domino's has opened more than 3,000 net stores around the globe since the first quarter of 2010.