MUMBAI: Indian cosmetics-to-fashion retailer Nykaa plans to more than triple its brick-and-mortar stores to 300, says founder and chief executive Falguni Nayar, (pic) significantly building its offline presence in the country.

       Nayar declined to give a timeline for the rollout but said the company was targeting 100 cities, adding to the 84 retail outlets it already operates in 40 cities.

       “The process of store expansion had slowed down due to the pandemic for a year or so,” Nayar said in an interview for the Reuters Next conference broadcast yesterday.

       “But this year we have revived our store rollout.”

       Although Nykaa largely operates as an e-commerce platform selling everything from global cosmetic brands to jewellery,

       Nayar said the physical stores, targeting Indian consumers wanting to buy touch-and-feel products, were a critical part of the business.

       Despite rapid growth of e-commerce and the likes of Amazon.com in India’s near US$900bil (RM3.79 trillion) retail market, most shoppers still buy products offline.

       Nykaa has said it is targeting a sub-segment of that sector – the US$70bil (RM294.85bil) beauty, personal care and fashion market. — Reuters