Lakme is one of the leading cosmetic brands in India with its headquarters in Mumbai. The brand was established in the year 1952. The story behind the establishment of this brand is an interesting one. It is believed that Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, concerned with the fact that Indian women were spending a lot of money on imported cosmetics, invited the industrialist JRD Tata to start a cosmetic brand. Lakme started as a 100% subsidiary of Tata Oil Mills. In 1996, Tata sold off its stakes in Lakme to Unilever and the brand is currently owned by Hindustan Unilever, a subsidiary of Unilever.
With its extensive experience in the beauty industry of over 35 years, Lakme provides its customers with a wide range of products and services. The company has a presence in a lot of cities of India and runs more than 400 salons to offer services to its customers.
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Business Model
The success of Lakme is attributed to its business model of franchising. Lakme to expand its presence started franchising in 2000. These franchise opportunities are available for entrepreneurs in different cities wherein the franchisees are required to offer services to customers at par with the standards of Lakme. Lakme’s hybrid business model with a few company-owned salons and other salons as franchises has been successful and has enabled Lakme to become a household name across India.
In addition, the business model of Lakme is based on its production and marketing strategies. Production strategies of Lakme focus on ensuring that the brand offers the best and chic products to its customers. The production strategy has helped the brand to overcome challenges and meet the changing demands of the customers. Further, the products offered by Lakme are customized to meet the needs of Indian women, making it’s a highly popular brand.
The marketing strategies adopted by Lakme have played an important role in the success of its business model. While the products offered by the brand are varied and meet the different needs of different customers, the brand also ensures that these products are available at competitive and affordable prices. Lakme is far ahead of its rivals when it comes to offering products at low prices and high quality. Lakme also distributes its products in department stores as well as specialty stores, making them easily accessible. Additionally, promotion of products takes place via advertising as well as sampling and mouth-to-mouth publicity.
Celebrity Endorsement of Lakme
Lakme Campaigns
The business model of Lakme also rests on some specific campaigns that play a big role in making the brand a household name. One such campaign has been Lakme Makeup Pro wherein the customers can use augmented reality and try new looks and products that best suit them. The presence on social media like Facebook as well as making celebrities brand ambassadors have also helped Lakme reach the height of success in the cosmetic market.
Lakme Makeup Pro App
Growth of Lakme
Lakme ranks first in the colored cosmetics market in India. The brand with its new and innovative products and campaigns was able to reach the 1000 crore mark in sales in the year 2017-18. To stay ahead of its competitors and also sustain the competition, Lakme also started its online e-commerce portal.