Ecommerce

Falguni Nayar
CEO, Nykaa
1. Identify the person whom you consider as an icon.

Falguni Nayar, CEO of Nykaa is the person whom we consider as an icon.

2. Why do you consider him/her as an icon?

‘Think big, but start small’- Falguni Nayar, CEO, Nykaa always believes in
pursuing her dreams in spite of any difficulties. She believes that with the
right training, education and support women can conquer any height.

She is an inspiration for all the young entrepreneurs in the country and that
is the reason we consider her as an icon.

3. Present the life story of Ms. Falguni Nayar.

She hails from a Gujarati family, but was born and brought up in Mumbai.
Her father was a businessman and she says that the seed of business was
planted into her mind at a very young age. She also has said that the stock
market and trade were common topics of discussion in her house.

After graduating from IIM, Ahmedabad, Falguni Nayar spent 19 years

working as an investment banker with the Kotak Mahindra group. In 2005,
she took over as the Managing Director of the investment banking business
post which she spearheaded the firm. It was in the year 2012 that she
decided to take the huge leap of faith, by quitting her job at the age of 50 and
embarking on an entrepreneurial journey. She was quick to discern that
 beauty was an untapped market in India and was on the way to experiencing
an explosion. As for her interest in business, she drew strength from
entrepreneurial giants like Ronnie Screwvala of UTV and Ajay Bijli of PVR
Cinemas. Their confidence and readiness to take risks in life inspired her a
lot.

She founded Nykaa in 2012, Falguni stresses on the need for women to come
out of their shells and be confident about handling both professional and
personal lives with equal panache. She says that if a woman with strong
determination and will power aims to do something, she will definitely
achieve it.

4. Any 10 questions which you would like to ask to Ms. Falguni Nayar?

❏ You started out as an e-commerce company, but you now have several
brick-and-mortar stores. What’s prompting you to open these outlets?

❏ How relevant do you think is the convergence of online and offline for
India?

❏ Do you plan to bring your offline sales at par with the online business?

❏ How do store economics work out for a beauty retailer in India?

❏ By when are you looking at achieving profitability?

❏ How are you managing to add such a range of brands on your

platform?

❏ Any advantage of your professional life experience in Nykaa?

❏ How are you planning your physical Nykaa stores?

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 ❏ You have spent significant time shoring up your product portfolio and
adding more brands. Will that change?

❏ How do you keep customers coming back?