Deepak Ohri - Itdali y I>D(> H d H t H f H e H a H t H gV HRUR V; … · 2013. 3. 17. · _ps...
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The Financial Express l P l A l N l O l R l A l M l A l 12 l APRIL 8 l 2012 Male beauty: A fair game Neha Pal W hen a colleague men- tioned that he indulged in all sorts of beauty treatments at salons, in- cluding pedicures and facials, it acted as a trigger for this story. We decided to see for ourselves the takeover of what was considered a woman'sdomain.OurfirststopwasAffin- ity in South Extension, Delhi. We found menof allagegroupsindulginginfacials, manicures, pedicures, waxing and mas- sages. Poonam, a beautician working with Affinity, said "Men come to the salon askingforvarioustreatmentsforskinand hair. Those below 40 normally get face- cleaning, hair cuts, waxing, manicure and pedicures, whereas older men usual- ly go for facials, body massage and hair massage.” Habibs in South Extension-II in Delhi was no different. In charge Rekha said, “There is a growing interest in men to- wards how they look. The number of men coming to salons has increased substan- tially over the past few years. Habibs has several packages for men, like the R2,000 package that includes a facial, pedicure and either an oil massage or henna hair pack or face bleach." To grab a slice of the increasingmen'sbeautybusiness,Lakme Lever, which is a part of Hindustan Unilever, launched its first unisex salon, Lakme Ivana, in July 2011. Men's groom- ing sector in India is estimated to be over R1,500 crore. The number of men using fairness productsinthecountryisalsoincreasing. About 35% people using fairness prod- ucts are men, compared to 20% about three years ago, indicates a survey. The men's skin care market is currently at 4% of the total skin care market and is grow- ing at over 40% every year. According to Garnier, its men's fairness cream called 'Garnier Men', which received a phenom- enal response from the market, was first introduced in India and then across the globe. Another strong player, Vaseline, which has come out with Vaseline Men, is giving tough competition to Fair and Lovely Menz Active and Garnier Men. Protiviti MD Akshay Bhalla feels, "There was a vacuum in the Indian mar- ket due to non-availability of products for men, but rising hygiene and beauty con- sciousness due to changing demograph- ics and lifestyles, deeper consumer pock- ets, greater product choice, wider avail- ability and media exposure are the reasons for the rise in demand." And style icons like John Abraham, Shahrukh Khan andShahidKapoorendorsingthese products has only helped in making the productsmorepopular.WhenFEspoketo one of the leading wellness players, VL- CC,whichhasitspresencein260locations inIndia,SandeepAhuja,MD,VLCC,said, "Men using such services and products is not just a trend in metros or mini metros, but even in smaller towns like Au- rangabad, Ahmednagar, Hugli and Mysore. Men today are not just coming in larger numbers for selecting fairness products, but are also looking at grooming services.” Ahuja added, "We see doubling of our revenues from men's products in 2012 fol- lowing a phenomenal response. At pre- sent, men products contribute about 7% to our product revenues." Purnendu Ku- mar, VP (retail), Technopak Advisors adds, "In India, Bollywood has a lot of peo- ple and with stars endorsing various products, it increases demand for groom- ing products. Another strategy followed by companies to promote cosmetics in rural areas is the sachet approach." Male beauty care market on a high as men are demanding equal attention for their looks A S CEO OF a luxury company, I know that our success is rooted in understanding our cus- tomers. Continuing from last week, I will be writing a series of columns on this topic and how it relates to Indian brands, Indian consumers and the economies of Asia on a broader perspec- tive. The so-called luxury leader of our part of the world is Japan. How did lux- ury and Japan become so intertwined? First of all, its prowess as a financial and manufacturing hub in the decades after World War II provided the country wealth that allowed luxury consump- tion. New generations followed course; luxury purchases became a habit and Japan’s luxury spending has remained elevated even in the face of many prob- lems in its economy. China has surged ahead to become the focusof globalluxury,witheveryluxury brand rushing to establish flagship stores not just in key locations but also in every third, eighth, and 12th-tier city. The biggest threat to the global brands, however, is local Chinese luxury brands. Over time, it will become increasingly difficult for international brands to pen- etrate the Chinese market. Why? Chi- nese brands understand Chinese culture and,importantly,itsregionalvariations. Allow me to provide an example from another BRIC country, Russia. In Moscow people flock to outlets by Valentin Yudashkin and Slava Zaitsev. Why? Is it patriotism? No, it is because these brands understand their cus- tomers. Russia is a huge country and its people have a distinct culture from both Europe and Asia, whose borders the country straddles. But different parts of Russia also have different cultures. Yu- dashkin recognises these regional vari- ations and offers different products in different cities, and I do not mean just simple adjustments for the climate. Com- ing back to India, I recently spoke to a representative of a top luxury brand in the country, who informed me that south India do not have luxury consumers. That is not the case. There are luxury consumers in the southren region, but the merchandise and the packaging has to be different. I recently visited Bangalore and while south India is not home to me, I have been doing some market research in the area (I also studied in Chennai and Banga- lore). I know the area well enough to compare it to north India. The people are different, atmosphere is different and the general attitude there is distinct from Delhi. Of course, the eating and drinking habits are also different, as is the experience desired at luxury venues. India is one of the world’s most diverse countries by nearly every measure. A true understanding of consumers re- quires appreciating their differences and offering products, services and ex- periences that cater to those differences while still maintaining the essence of the brand. This is hard work, I recognise. Even the giants of global business can get it wrong. Deepak Ohri is CEO of lebua Hotels & Resorts. He can be reached at [email protected] F OR YEARS, Mac users have been told that not only are they cooler than their PC counterparts, they are safer too. Apple has always held that computer viruses and malware on- ly dogged its competitors. That is no longer the case. This week, security researchers dis- covered a new computer virus had in- fected half a million Mac users — about half of them in the United States. The malicious program, known as a Trojan horse, is infesting users in the most sur- reptitious way possible: users need not manually click on any malicious links or manually download any malware to get infected. The program simply down- loads itself. Once downloaded, the Tro- jans’creatorsgainabackdoorthatgives them unauthorized access to the vic- tim’s computer.“This is the largest scale attack on Mac OS X to date,” said Roel Schouwenberg, a senior researcher at Kaspersky Lab, an antivirus software company who has analysed the mal- ware. “And much more sophisticated.” For now, the Trojan’s creators appear to be using infested computers for click fraud, in which they manipulate clicks on a Web advertisement in exchange for kickbacks. But as with all Trojans, its creators can choose to use infected com- puters however they like. The malware infects computers in one of two ways. In some cases, users re- ceive a pop-up prompt purporting to be from Adobe Flash asking them to install an update and type in their password — hencetheTrojan’sname,“Fakeflash”or “Flashback.” But in most cases, attack- ers appear to have exploited a loophole in Java software that automatically downloads the malware onto victims’ machines without any prompting. Apple issued two security patches for the Trojan this week and encouraged Mac users to run their software updates as soon as possible. For the technically astute, F-Secure, a Helsinki-based secu- rity firm, published instructions for how to identify Fakeflash and remove thevirusmanually. Several security experts have criti- cized Apple as slow to react, considering Oracle issued a fix to the Java security holeinFebruary.Appledidnotissueafix until more than a month later. Doctor Web,asecurityfirmbasedinRussia,dis- covered the Trojan had exploited the loophole to infect Mac computers this week. Kaspersky Labs reverse engi- neered the malware and began to inter- cept its communication on Wednesday. NYT What lies beneath a consumer’s mind Are Macs no longer safe from hackers? DEEPAK OHRI DEELUXE A true understanding of consumers requires appreciating their differences
Transcript of Deepak Ohri - Itdali y I>D(> H d H t H f H e H a H t H gV HRUR V; … · 2013. 3. 17. · _ps...
The Financial Express
l P l A l N l O l R l A l M l A l12 l APRIL 8 l 2012
Male beauty: A fair gameNehaPal
When a colleague men-tioned that he indulgedin all sorts of beautytreatments at salons, in-cluding pedicures and
facials, it acted as a trigger for this story.We decided to see for ourselves thetakeover of what was considered awoman'sdomain.OurfirststopwasAffin-ity in South Extension, Delhi. We foundmenof allagegroupsindulginginfacials,manicures, pedicures, waxing and mas-sages. Poonam, a beautician workingwithAffinity,said"Mencometothesalonaskingforvarioustreatmentsforskinandhair. Those below 40 normally get face-cleaning, hair cuts, waxing, manicureand pedicures, whereas older men usual-ly go for facials, body massage andhairmassage.”
Habibs in South Extension-II in Delhiwas no different. In charge Rekha said,“There is a growing interest in men to-wardshowtheylook.Thenumberof mencoming to salons has increased substan-tially over the past few years. Habibs hasseveral packages for men, like the R2,000package that includes a facial, pedicureand either an oil massage or henna hairpackorfacebleach."Tograbasliceof the
increasingmen'sbeautybusiness,LakmeLever, which is a part of HindustanUnilever, launched its first unisex salon,Lakme Ivana, in July 2011. Men's groom-ing sector in India is estimated to be overR1,500crore.
The number of men using fairnessproductsinthecountryisalsoincreasing.About 35% people using fairness prod-ucts are men, compared to 20% aboutthree years ago, indicates a survey. Themen'sskincaremarketiscurrentlyat4%of the total skin care market and is grow-
ing at over 40% every year. According toGarnier, its men's fairness cream called'GarnierMen',whichreceivedaphenom-enal response from the market, was firstintroduced in India and then across theglobe. Another strong player, Vaseline,whichhascomeoutwithVaselineMen,isgiving tough competition to Fair andLovelyMenzActiveandGarnierMen.
Protiviti MD Akshay Bhalla feels,"There was a vacuum in the Indian mar-ketduetonon-availabilityof productsformen, but rising hygiene and beauty con-
sciousness due to changing demograph-ics and lifestyles, deeper consumer pock-ets, greater product choice, wider avail-ability and media exposure are thereasonsfortheriseindemand."Andstyleicons like John Abraham, ShahrukhKhan andShahidKapoorendorsingtheseproducts has only helped in making theproductsmorepopular.WhenFEspoketoone of the leading wellness players, VL-CC,whichhasitspresencein260locationsinIndia,SandeepAhuja,MD,VLCC,said,"Menusingsuchservicesandproductsisnot just a trend in metros or mini metros,but even in smaller towns like Au-rangabad, Ahmednagar, Hugli andMysore.Mentodayarenotjustcominginlarger numbers for selecting fairnessproducts, but are also looking atgroomingservices.”
Ahuja added, "We see doubling of ourrevenues from men's products in 2012 fol-lowing a phenomenal response. At pre-sent, men products contribute about 7%to our product revenues." Purnendu Ku-mar, VP (retail), Technopak Advisorsadds,"InIndia,Bollywoodhasalotof peo-ple and with stars endorsing variousproducts, it increases demand for groom-ing products. Another strategy followedby companies to promote cosmetics inruralareasisthesachetapproach."
Male beauty care market on a high as men are demanding equal attention for their looks
AS CEO OF a luxury company, Iknow that our success is rootedin understanding our cus-
tomers. Continuing from last week, Iwill be writing a series of columns onthis topic and how it relates to Indianbrands, Indian consumers and theeconomiesof Asiaonabroaderperspec-tive. The so-called luxury leader of ourpart of the world is Japan. How did lux-ury and Japan become so intertwined?Firstof all,itsprowessasafinancialandmanufacturing hub in the decades afterWorld War II provided the countrywealth that allowed luxury consump-
tion. New generations followed course;luxury purchases became a habit andJapan’s luxury spending has remainedelevated even in the face of many prob-lems in its economy.
Chinahassurgedaheadtobecomethefocusof globalluxury,witheveryluxurybrand rushing to establish flagshipstoresnotjustinkeylocationsbutalsoinevery third, eighth, and 12th-tier city.The biggest threat to the global brands,however,islocalChineseluxurybrands.Over time, it will become increasinglydifficult forinternationalbrandstopen-etrate the Chinese market. Why? Chi-
nesebrandsunderstandChinesecultureand,importantly,itsregionalvariations.
Allow me to provide an example fromanother BRIC country, Russia. InMoscow people flock to outlets byValentin Yudashkin and Slava Zaitsev.Why? Is it patriotism? No, it is becausethese brands understand their cus-tomers. Russia is a huge country and itspeople have a distinct culture from bothEurope and Asia, whose borders thecountry straddles. But different parts ofRussia also have different cultures. Yu-dashkin recognises these regional vari-ations and offers different products in
different cities, and I do not mean justsimpleadjustmentsfortheclimate.Com-ing back to India, I recently spoke to arepresentative of a top luxury brand inthecountry,whoinformedmethatsouthIndia do not have luxury consumers.That is not the case.
There are luxury consumers in thesouthren region, but the merchandiseand the packaging has to be different. Irecently visited Bangalore and whilesouthIndiaisnothometome,Ihavebeendoing some market research in the area(I also studied in Chennai and Banga-lore). I know the area well enough to
compareittonorthIndia. Thepeoplearedifferent, atmosphere is different andthe general attitude there is distinctfrom Delhi. Of course, the eating anddrinking habits are also different, as istheexperiencedesiredatluxuryvenues.India is one of the world’s most diversecountries by nearly every measure. Atrue understanding of consumers re-quires appreciating their differencesand offering products, services and ex-periences that cater to those differenceswhile still maintaining the essence ofthebrand.Thisishardwork,Irecognise.Even the giants of global business canget it wrong.
Deepak Ohri is CEO of lebuaHotels & Resorts. He can be reached at
FORYEARS,Macusershavebeentold that not only are they coolerthantheirPCcounterparts,they
are safer too. Apple has always heldthatcomputervirusesandmalwareon-ly dogged its competitors. That is nolonger the case.
This week, security researchers dis-covered a new computer virus had in-fectedhalf amillionMacusers—abouthalf of them in the United States. Themalicious program, known as a Trojanhorse, is infestingusersinthemostsur-reptitious way possible: users need notmanually click on any malicious linksor manually download any malware togetinfected.Theprogramsimplydown-loads itself. Once downloaded, the Tro-jans’creatorsgainabackdoorthatgivesthem unauthorized access to the vic-tim’scomputer.“Thisisthelargestscaleattack on Mac OS X to date,” said RoelSchouwenberg, a senior researcher atKaspersky Lab, an antivirus softwarecompany who has analysed the mal-ware.“Andmuchmoresophisticated.”
Fornow,theTrojan’screatorsappearto be using infested computers for clickfraud, in which they manipulate clicksonaWebadvertisementinexchangeforkickbacks. But as with all Trojans, itscreatorscanchoosetouseinfectedcom-
putershowevertheylike.The malware infects computers in
oneof twoways.Insomecases,usersre-ceive a pop-up prompt purporting to befromAdobeFlashaskingthemtoinstallan update and type in their password —hencetheTrojan’sname,“Fakeflash”or“Flashback.” But in most cases, attack-ers appear to have exploited a loopholein Java software that automaticallydownloads the malware onto victims’machineswithoutanyprompting.
Appleissuedtwosecuritypatchesforthe Trojan this week and encouragedMacuserstoruntheirsoftwareupdatesas soon as possible. For the technicallyastute, F-Secure, a Helsinki-based secu-rity firm, published instructions forhow to identify Fakeflash and removethevirusmanually.
Several security experts have criti-cizedAppleasslowtoreact,consideringOracle issued a fix to the Java securityholeinFebruary.Appledidnotissueafixuntil more than a month later. DoctorWeb,asecurityfirmbasedinRussia,dis-covered the Trojan had exploited theloophole to infect Mac computers thisweek. Kaspersky Labs reverse engi-neered the malware and began to inter-ceptitscommunicationonWednesday.
NYT
What lies beneath a consumer’s mind
Are Macs no longersafe from hackers?
DEEPAK OHRI
DEELUXE
A true understanding ofconsumers requires
appreciating theirdifferences
