May 22, 2020
Topic- Future of the beauty and wellness industry in India
This I-CAN Conversation was charmed by the presence of Mr. Jawed Habib. His witty and catchy answers kept the audience glued to the conversation. Mr. Jawed is the Chairman of Jawed Habib Hair and Beauty Ltd. He put his foot forward in the hair and beauty industry in 1988. He received formal training on hairstyling techniques and professions from a famous school in London. In the last 35 years, he has set up a huge business empire that is already making a difference in hundreds of lives in business associates, thousands of employees, and of course millions of customers. He has set up 800+ salons and training academies in 24 states and 110 cities across India. The brand Jawed Habib is constantly gaining momentum by adding new brands and new ideologies to the business. He has managed explosive growth through careful attention, customer satisfaction, and quality assurance. His skills, aesthetic sensitivity, and solid expertise helped him understand the needs of the growing Indian market. He also realized that everyone could not afford the cost of training. He conducted thousands of seminars through which lakhs of hair professionals got introduced to the techniques at very affordable prices. He is prudent in his domain of expertise.
Compiled by Kritik Mathur
The first question itself made everyone deep dive into the topic of post-COVID-19 future of India in this industry. To this, Mr. Jawed said that this industry, ‘the Beauty Parlour of India’, is going to change a lot. All the small beauty parlors, barbershops, and salons will be completely wiped out. The reason for this would be growing human awareness. People now want hygiene and trust and cannot compromise with it. So the industry will take a new form. It will change to a ‘salon industry’ or a ‘hair industry’.
Adding onto this, Ms. Mandira asked for the speaker’s suggestions for these small scale business owners and how they can cope up in these times. Mr. Jawed feels that education can resolve every problem. Education can turn one from a small player to a big player. He considers their professionals to be hair scientists and not merely barbers. So, to become a scientist one has to go to Paathshaala (school) and learn the concepts there.
The next question was related to Mr. Jawed’s franchise-operated business outlets and how in these times he is helping these outlets to grow. So, this time is very important as nothing is open yet. He said that he talks to the hairdressers in these times so as to keep them motivated and support them mentally. He feels that the future is very bright, one just needs to work harder. The industry will certainly get bigger.
Mr. Jawed then touched upon the fact that there should not be many home services related to this industry. This is because safety is very important. So, go to salons. One needs to have an environment and proper equipment to work, which won’t come at home. Speaker even got baffled thinking of the person who started this trend.
Ms. Mandira asked a question related to the product market and its evolution. It is going to be very slow, according to the speaker. At the moment, there isn’t any liquid cash available, because of the uncertainty as to how long will it last. So, people won’t be spending much on their products. There is only the need of a good haircut where one looks presentable. In the next three months, cosmetics would not grow much. Even the salon will take some time. Beauty services will become DIY. Mr. Jawed even commented upon the situations of MSMEs in today’s scenario and the fact that they can come up with small salons at their places, so as to earn a living. So it is the right time and they should train themselves and associate them with a brand.
The next question gave the horizon of the government’s support in building the industry. The speaker annotated the fact that the government is supporting every business and every industry. It’s just a matter of fact that we have to grab those opportunities, and why can’t we do that! Moreover, we all have to start from scratch due to the fact that we all have gone back years now. So the speaker urges all to go and start, that is all that he and even the government wants.
Next, he gave some insights related to the brand tips. He claimed that the brand is all about creating trust among the customers. One cannot create trust by simply doing marketing on TVs. Look, Jawed Habib brand is a 30-year-old, hard-worked brand! Never look only for money, it is a part of the business. One needs to make a brand that is education-based. He then talks about his profession and describes it as a recession-free profession. So, one should have such ideas and start taking advantage of different business ideas.
Ms. Mandira then asked Mr. Jawed about his thoughts on the culture of webinars and related stuff. To this, he said that this culture of webinars is good. But in the long run, one cannot just depend on these webinars for learning. One can certainly learn the ABC of that particular topic, but unless one does not go to the Paathshaala, one cannot learn much. Moreover, practical experience is very much important.
Another question that popped up was regarding the speaker’s greatest learning while educating. He gave a great view that we must use grounded language. Have an emotional factor in your speech and don’t try to use fancy language. It was truly a mesmerizing session with Mr. Jawed Habib and he gave various insights into businesses and how the business environment works.
Key Highlights of the Conversation:
- The beauty and wellness industry to change a lot. There will be developed and it will take a new form of the ‘salon industry’.
- The future of the industry is extremely bright. So right guidance to be given to such salons so as to motivate them in these times.
- In the future, customers’ demands would be safety, hygiene, and trust levels from the businesses.
- The product market, the cosmetic products in this industry would grow very slow. Even the salons would take some time.
- Beauty will get converted to DIY (Do It Yourself).
- Medium enterprises can come up with businesses in this industry and can create their SOPs.
- For making a brand, one has to win the trust of customers and start connecting with them.
