Nykaa: A Keen Contest in Beauty Products Retailing

In 2019, Nykaa was recognized as India’s undisputed beauty product sales queen. Since its inception in 2012 as a niche e-commerce website, Nykaa has evolved rapidly. By 2019, Nykaa opened its 50th retail store, with plans for another 150; it had expanded into new customer segments (salon owners and men) and forged new partnerships (e.g. with Bollywood celebrities). In a manner reminiscent of a judo player, Nykaa had outmanoeuvred much larger sellers, such as Amazon, and was close to a one-billion-dollar valuation by the end of 2019. Nykaa now faced an even more exciting set of opportunities and challenges. Nykaa’s recent decision to ramp up a new business-fashion faced scepticism. Sceptics questioned whether Nykaa’s omnichannel model could work in India’s fiercely contested fashion market in 2019. Nykaa also faced a growing challenge in its core market from purplle.com—an online marketplace for beauty products. While tracing the causes for Nykaa’s success in the beauty market, the case highlights the need for senior management to re-evaluate and evolve the company’s strategy.