ETPanache Dialogues On Grooming: The Business Of Looking Good

The third edition of ET Panache Dialogues was on men’s grooming in India. There is a marked shift in the Indian man’s outlook towards looking good. The multi-crore grooming industry is also important from the economic standpoint. Snapshots from the roundtable discussion between six qualified guests.
In Pic: Sumanto Chattopadhyay, Chairman, 82.5 Communications, Ogilvy Group, takes a selfie with fellow panellists.(Clockwise from left): Chattopadhyay, Nihir Parikh (Chief Business Officer, Nykaa.com), Kavita Angre (Director, Insights and Media, L’Oreal India), Raghavendra Rathore (designer), Krishna Gupta (MD, Lloyds Luxuries Ltd) and Dhimaan Shah (Founder, StyleCracker.com)

Location courtesy: The GVK Presidential Suite, Taj Santacruz, Mumbai
Image courtesy: Nishikant Gamre & Shriya Patil

Chattopadhyay (C), armed with a wealth of awards and experience in advertising, makes a point.

Angre (R) is all ears as Rathore, couturier to the rich and famous and known for his bandhgalas, holds forth.

Shah absorbs the insights being shared by his fellow panellists.

Angre’s varied background – she did her engineering in Mumbai before studying at IIM Lucknow – enabled her to have an evolved take on the industry.

Gupta is in the business of classic haircuts and styling, and walks the talk with his neat turn at the event.

Rathore stresses on the importance of grooming priority No. 1 - personal hygiene.

A part time actor and model, Chattopadhyay makes a style statement with his mane and denim jacket.

Parikh shares his observations of the grooming industry.

Rathore and Gupta discover they have something in common - a special connection with Jodhpur.

Chattopadhyay and Shah exchange notes over coffee.

Angre and Parikh discuss the trade over nibbles after the discussion.

Indian women are no longer accepting of men careless about their grooming, resulting in men paying greater attention to their appearance, Angre says.