Inception
Bottega di Lungavita was incepted almost 60 years ago in a town called San Pellegrino, in the heart of the Italian Alps. It was the brainchild of a chemist in Italy called Dr Alberto Donati, who is also the CEO and Founder of the company. The company combines age-old traditions with scientific innovation to create a natural cosmetic line of cutting-edge products for all beauty and skin care needs.
Spreading wings
At present, the brand has built its presence in North India through approximately 65 locations in Delhi, Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Jammu, Aizawl, Agra and Lucknow. This includes 5 self-owned stores. Their store formats are usually about 50 sq.ft. in neighbourhood cosmetic stores, which go up to 350–400 sq.ft. in malls or high street shopping areas. Khurana shares: “Currently, the market share is small but growing especially in tier-II cities. We have received a fairly good response from people who have used our products and we expect to gain a considerable market share for the brand in these towns by the end of Q4.”
“The average size of our stores is about 350 sq.ft. We try to maintain a budget, which obviously depends on the city and the prevailing rents we spend, which is approximately Rs. 8–10 lakh on the furniture and fixtures of each store. Our store formats range from kiosks to self-owned stores and shop-in-shops,” he added.
In tier-II and -III cities, the company prefers shop-in-shops with a ready loyal customer base who always make a bee line to that particular store for all their cosmetics needs. These stores have the complete range of products offered by Bottega di Lungavita. Their store design is aqua green themed inspired by flowing water, as the brand’s USP is using water from San Pellegrino.
Product nest
The store has on offer Bottega di Lungavita’s core product line, which includes a dedicated anti-ageing line with over 15 solutions, whitening products, cosmetic solutions for expecting and post-natal mothers, a baby care range, oils and aromatherapy creams and gels to keep the skin and hair nourished, sun protection treatments, and anti-cellulite concentrates and supplements.
Price range
The company has approximately 180 products, which start from Rs. 499 for an SPF lip balm and go up to Rs. 3,500 for top line products of anti-ageing therapy. Their product portfolio includes those for men, babies, mothers, anti-ageing, hair care, skin care, fragrances, anti-water retention (cellulite), and aromatherapy.
Customer first
Khurana asserts: “We are positioned in the masstige segment, which is just below luxury or prestige and above mass FMCG products. We felt there was a strong need of targeted therapy products in this price range, as today’s customers are more educated, enjoy a higher disposable income and have a generally good idea of well being because Indians have started to travel abroad a lot more.”
USP
Bottega di Lungavita means ‘Boutique of Long Life’ in English. The product line has the complete international range of 180+ products at all their POS. All their retail formats are designed to keep the Italian essence of the brand intact. They have trained skin consultants to recommend products according to the client’s skin type or any other common skin concern that they may have. The quality of the brand’s formulae, the excellence of its production and its particular concern for the efficacy and skin compatibility of the product are the company’s key strengths.
Challenges
Khurana reveals: “The biggest challenges were, and still are, from a regulatory point of view where the scenario is changing constantly. Like any other brand, it takes immense hard work in compiling documentation and of course a lot of patience to deal with any government authority in India.”
Talking about the key risks involved in their business, Khurana shares: “Like any retail business, the key risk is the acceptance of your products in a very competitive market scenario with more and more international players entering the country every year.”
Growth rate
Talking about the company’s growth rate, he states: “The Indian cosmetic market is estimated to be worth Rs. 6,000 crore out of which skin care is about 16 per cent and growing at 93 per cent a year.”
According to Khurana, the factors that are propelling the industry’s growth are as follows:
a) Higher disposable income in tier-II and -III cities.
b) Consumer awareness regarding skin care therapies.
c) Aspiration to use luxury goods in smaller towns.
d) More exposure to international range of high-quality products.
Consumers are much more educated and prefer natural cosmetics to synthetic or chemically enhanced cosmetics, which could harm the skin in the long run.
Marketing
At present, the company is involved in aggressive localised advertising to support their 65 POS locations, which emphasise on customer interaction activities on ground rather than advertisements in newspapers and television. This is because they feel they can gain their customers’ confidence by giving them a chance to test their product before they decide to purchase it.
Talking about managing funds for retail expansion, Khurana says: “At this point, we have full support from our parent company based in Italy for expansion in India. But we are looking for suitable partners who would like to join us to spread our message of well being in other parts of India.”
Competition
Khurana feels competition is always good to keep one at the cutting edge of technology. “It also educates the customer on quality and efficacy of the products. We find ourselves in the highest growing sector of the market where there is always room for quality products and good results,” he adds.
Future plans
The company is targeting malls in tier-II cities, shop-in-shops in neighbourhood cosmetic stores and high streets in tier-I cities. “We plan to go to 100 locations by the end of the year after which we will start to expand in the west and then the south subsequently,” concludes Khurana.
