"Online has become an integral part of the market ecosystem today": Manish Vyas

Established in 1770, Yardley is one of the world’s oldest living brands in the personal care category with fragrance, bath & shower and skin care products. It is a premium priced brand and is one of the few personal care brands which held prestigious Royal Warrants. Wipro Consumer Care bought the brand in 2010. Since then it has grown 150 times in India. Manish Vyas speakers further on same.

Interview Excerpts..

According to you, what is the estimated market size of bath and skin care products in India? According to you, what are the factors propelling growth in this segment?

Fragrance and Deo Spray are key categories for Yardley in India. Market size for Fragrance across all categories is about Rs. 4000 Cr.  Consumers need for personal grooming, their willingness to upgrade to better fragrance formats like Eau de Toilette (EDT) and Eau De Parfum (EDP) and convenient formats like pocket perfume or compact perfume are fueling the category growth

Shed light on Yardley’s journey in India market so far. Can you strike out two-three remarkable milestones achieved so far in this market?

Yardley is one of the world’s oldest brands that will turn 250 years of recorded history in 2020. Wipro Consumer Care bought the brand in 2010. Since then it has grown 150 times in India. Till then consumers in India knew Yardley for its talc and soaps. Today it has gone beyond that and gives consumers variety to choose in perfumes also. It is now available across channels including premium Lifestyle stores. In certain Talc markets including South and the West the brand has consistently grown to become the second largest selling talc brand. In modern retail too across India it has significant presence in multiple categories.

 FMCGs are registering higher traction in the online channel. Do you go by the statement? KI highlight your distribution strategy including current sales touch points?

Online has become an integral part of the market ecosystem today. Consumer does shop online due to factors such as convenience, ready availability and attractive price point amongst others. Yardley too has a significant presence online. This has helped us enhance our presence in those markets and categories where we could not establish our presence through traditional channel. We could like to ensure we are present through multiple consumer touch points right from strategic lifestyle to the last mile convenience store in brick and mortar format.   

Modern day retail shelves are filled with organic/ecofriendly products/ essential oils in the skin care segment. Do you have any plans to foray this segment?

Our products are known for essential fine floral ingredients from England – English Lavender and English Rose. The Yardley promise of fine floral fragrances is what quintessentially defines the brand.  

 How consumer behavior has evolved in this segment? Kindly highlight your market and product strategy to win millennials?

Consumer in India today appreciates the authenticity and sophistication of good quality fragrance. They are ready to pay a premium to a brand that delivers this. Over the years, we have seen consumers particularly millennials react to the brand differently. For instance if the earlier generation used perfumes and deos once a day before stepping out of home, younger consumers use compact  or pocket perfumes which is a product on the go that can be used anytime –anywhere. The above changes are welcome changes for the evolution of the fragrance category and are incorporated in the brand strategy of Yardley in India.

Kindly highlight your best sellers.

Our best sellers include mono-florals like English Lavender and English Rose and fusion multi-florals like morning dew, country breeze and so on in the female category. In men, Gentlemen – Classic fragrance is the clear best seller

 At last, kindly highlight your growth plans?

Our growth strategy has been to make world class fragrances of Yardley London available to millions of Indians through our strong multichannel distribution network. We believe in the “ Step up” strategy under which we are  committed to recruit, actively educate and recruit upgrade the consumers into the sensorial world of fine fragrance