Habib plans 100 salons in country & abroad by '07

KOLKATA: Jawed Habib Hair and Beauty, a prominent player in India’s organised hair and beauty services business, is targeting a network of 500 salons by ’10. Having set a target of doubling its business this year, from around Rs 10 crore in ’05-06, the company is now proposing to set up a hundred new salons both in the country as well as abroad in ’07.

Speaking to ET, Vinit Gupta, CEO, Jawed Habib Hair and Beauty, said, “Our expansion plan will be funded through a mix of private placement and IPO.

To finance the first phase of expansion, the promoters, Jawed Habib and family, will dilute nearly 30-35% of their stake through a private placement. The company hopes to raise $3-3.5m through this route.” The formal announcement to this effect is expected next month.

At present, Jawed Habib Hair and Beauty is a closely-held 100% family-owned company. “For the second phase of expansion, we will be floating an IPO by end ’07. We will, in fact, be the first purely hair and beauty company in the organised space to take the IPO route,” Mr Gupta added. According to him, this would be used to set up another 200-odd salons in ’08.

The company is also looking at further overseas expansion for which it is studying various international markets and fashion capitals like the Middle-East, Australia, London, Paris and New York. The company already has a presence abroad through a network of eight salons in London, New York, Dhaka and Kathmandu.

In India, where it already runs 80 salons, the company will be concentrating on metros like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad. “We are contemplating two salons at the Mumbai and Delhi airports and are open to exploring new retail formats,” said Mr Jawed Habib, speaking at the launch of his second Professional Hair Styling Institute in Kolkata.

“For our expansion in India, we are looking at setting up company stores or even acquisition of small local chains. In the international market, we will be taking the franchisee and master franchisee route,” said Mr Gupta.

The company is also planning to grow significantly in the education and training business. While it currently runs seven schools across India and Kathmandu, it is planning to set up seven-eight new schools in ’07.