Syska plans ₹100-cr personal-care push

Syska, primarily into LED lights and mobile accessories, is planning to invest at least ₹100 crore this year for marketing its just launched personal grooming segment.

The company entered the segment earlier this month with a range of offerings like beard trimmers, shavers, epilators and so on.

According to Rajesh Uttamchandani, Director, Syska Group, apart from the “aggressive marketing plans” the company will also leverage its existing LED distribution channels for pushing new products.

The company will also be pricing its products 20-30 per cent below that of competition, so that it gets the right traction in the market.

Market sources indicate that Syska had opted for similar aggressive marketing strategies in the LED lighting business. In the initial days, the advertising and marketing spends in the lighting segment was as high as ₹150 crore.

“We are eyeing a 10 per cent market share in the personal grooming segment by FY-18. The intention is to spend not less than ₹100 crore towards marketing,” he told BusinessLine during an interview.

Brand ambassadors – actors – have also been appointed keeping in mind the youth as its target audience.

The personal grooming segment in India is pegged at ₹2,800-3,000 crore annually with a growth of 25-30 per cent.

Philips and Panasonic are the major players at the higher end, while Chinese brands dominate the price sensitive lower end.

Currently, Syska’s personal grooming products are launched through e-tailer Amazon.

They will be taken to brick-and-mortar stores “soon”.

According to Uttamchandani, the personal care segment is expected to become the second largest contributor towards Syska’s turnover by FY-18.

With sales in personal care picking up, it is expected to contribute close to 20 per cent of the turnover.

Currently, LED accounts for 70 per cent of its revenues, while mobile accessories and mobile insurance account for 20 and 10 per cent, respectively.

The company is also investing over ₹100 crore to set up a second plant at Maharashtra.

The plant, expected to be operational later this year (2017), will initially cater to its LED lighting range.

“Depending on the response to our personal care products, we will take a call on manufacturing them in India,” he pointed out.

He added that personal care products are currently designed in Korea and are imported from Korea and China.