Reliance Retail, the retail arm of oil-to-telecom conglomerate Reliance Industries, is planning a foray into salon business. The company is in talks to buy a 49% stake in Naturals Salon & Spa. The move will pit RIL in direct competition with Hindustan Unilever’s Lakme and other brands such as Enrich and Geetanjali.
According to an Economic Times report, Reliance Retail is in final discussions to enter into a joint venture agreement with a 49% stake in Groom India Salons & Spa, which runs the Chennai-based Natural Salon & Spa.
Natural Salon & Spa currently has around 700 outlets in India and Reliance wants to increase the chain’s footprint by 4-5 times, one of the company executives reportedly said.
The report further added that the current promoters of Naturals are likely to continue running operations, and Reliance’s funding will be used to expand brand network.
“As a policy, we do not comment on media speculation and rumours. Our company evaluates various opportunities on an ongoing basis. We have made and will continue to make necessary disclosures in compliance with our obligations under Securities Exchange Board of India (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations 2015 and our agreements with the stock exchanges,” a Reliance Retail spokesperson reportedly said on the development.
The salon industry was among worst hit during the pandemic, during which Groom India Salons & Spa made an appeal for financial assistance to the government to keep the two-decade-old company afloat.
CK Kumaravel, CEO, Naturals Salon & Spa said the discussions were in the nascent stage. The salon industry was hit hard during the pandemic, but business has been good for the last seven months and Covid is not the reason why the company was diluting its stake, he added.
Naturals was found in early 2000s and aims to increase footprint to upto 3000 salons by 2025.
