French hair-salon chain Dessange International to open salons in India over the next four years

NEW DELHI: French hair-salon chain Dessange International will open 20-25 luxury and mid-segment salons in India over the next four years, a top company executive has said.


The 700-million Euro group will operate its luxury brand Dessange and mid-segment brand Camille Albane in the country through a franchisee tie-up with Mark Dessange Salon and Spa, said Levan Ramishvili, director of Dessange Paris India.

In India, Dessange’s Camille Albane brand will compete mainly with Lakme salons owned by Hindustan Unilever, those of L’Oreal, German chain Schwarzkopf and stylists Shahnaz Hussain and Jawed Habib.

“While Dessange is very luxury, and we hope it will set new benchmarks in the super-premium segment, Camille Albane will compete with some of the existing brands in this space,” Ramishvili said, adding that the group plans to retail some of its own hair-care and cosmetic products at its stores.

According to Ramishvili, the proposed salons, each costing Rs 7-8 crore, will come up in Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Mumbai. Dessange, which runs two outlets in Delhi through another franchisee, started operating two salons in Mumbai earlier this month.

Dessange joins the growing list of multinational companies wanting to tap new money in India. The group, set up in Paris in 1954 by entrepreneur Jaques Dessange, operates 2,000 chains across 40 countries. About half of its revenues come from outside its home market.

A December 2012 report by Franchise India pegs the country’s per capita spend on cosmetics at $2.3, compared with the global average of $36.4. The beauty-care market includes salons, cosmetic treatment centres and cosmetic products. In India, the three put together account for Rs 19,000 crore, of which the salons business alone is worth Rs 7,000 crore, the report adds.