Marie Claire is a popular magazine which publishes local editions in over 28 countries featuring content on fashion, beauty, celebrities, home and lifestyle. The brand also holds extended licensing programmes with over 50 partners across the world for products such as fashion accessories, home decor, cosmetics, perfumes and beauty services.
On March 14, the first Marie Claire Paris salon in Pune was opened at Seasons Mall, Magarpatta. Talking about venturing into the city, Vandana Bharadwaj, director and spokesperson Marie Claire Paris India, says, “We are planning to open shop all over India. I feel that people in Pune are open to being experimental when you talk about beauty regime, hair, skin and all of that. This is the first salon and we plan to start a few more in the city. Currently, we are in the stage of checking out places and analysing the demographics to find suitable options. We, as a brand, are very glad to arrive in Pune.” The unisex salon brand already exists in Bengaluru and Hyderabad.
Looking back at how the publishing house developed into having a finger in each pie, Vittal Shetty, director and CEO, Marie Claire Paris India, says, “Marie Claire was first published as an international monthly magazine in France in 1937. Because it got immensly popular, the magazine became a leading brand covering a wide range of other verticals like clothing, cosmetics, watches, sunglasses, bags, shoes, accessories and much more in the field of fashion and beauty across many countries. The brand stands for fashion, balance, creativity, well-being and expertise.”
He explains that under the beauty and well-being vertical, the brand has four type of enterprises — Marie Claire Paris Salon, Marie Claire Paris Salon and Wellness, Marie Claire Paris Just Nails, Marie Claire Paris IIWA ( International Institute of Wellness Aesthetics). “Through our salon vertical, we want to make international beauty brands more accessible and affordable for the masses. There are a lot of international brands that are available at salons that come under the high-end premium category. We choose to position ourselves as a mass premium brand, which means that we offer quality services just like any premium brand, but we are affordable for the masses. To put it into numbers, our services are priced at about 30-40 per cent lesser than the rates at any premium salon and only about 10-15 per cent higher than local salons,” he adds.
Execution and expansion
While Pune can boast of being home to many luxury brands that provide beauty services, Bharadwaj believes that they lack something that can be found at Marie Claire Paris salons where the staff is thoroughly trained at their academy. “While artistic skill is vital, I think that somewhere there is a lack of soft skills in the beauty industry. Though the staff is technically sound — they know various techniques such as rebonding, and they can handle new products smartly — they tend to lack training in communication and soft skills, which is becoming more and more important these days. This is probably because some of them come from weak financial backgrounds where they don’t have the opportunity for quality education. The Marie Claire Paris IIWA gives our staff an all-round training and stresses on the development of soft skills,” says she going on to explain how this skill set is often overlooked but it makes a great difference to the way the staff interacts with customers, which in turn affects the reputation of the brand.
“Though we will be actively running social media campaigns and indulge in other forms of advertisement, word-of-mouth publicity is important to us. For this, we need to make sure that our customers have an experience that leaves them so happy that they talk to their friends and acquaintances about the salon and spread the word through this sort of endorsement,” says Bharadwaj.
Her plan is to open at least 7-8 outlets including salons, wellness centres and nail studios, and an academy in the city over the next fiscal year.
