by Sachin Murdeshwar

Mumbai: APN News brings the essence and history of beauty and wellness resplendent brand NS Style Salon In a candid conversation with Mr. Amyn Manji, Founder, NS Style Salon– the Man behind the powerful brand in the Hair and Beauty sector with 12+ branches across Mumbai, Goa and Kochi was successful in bringing India’s First Unisex Airport Salon at GVK T1 and T2 Mumbai Airport.

1. How did the idea of starting your own enterprise come? What inspired you?

Ans. At the early age of 14, I was helping my father in his business. In 1999, while completing Bachelors in Commerce, I co-founded Spearhead Live which offered cable internet services to households in Mumbai. Cable TV industry at that time was extremely unorganized. Journey was fraught with challenges and relentless efforts helped company grow to become an ISP with Pan India presence and it operates till date.

 

Later, I wanted to try my hands at something different; So, I set up NS Style Salon that pushed the envelope in beauty services. My industrious attitude made sure the business kept blooming and I remained proactive in introducing innovations that the clientele simply loved.

 

While i was at the forefront in technological innovations and path breaking services in the glamour industry, I also made a mark in the Fashion Industry as a Co-Founder of the IBFW (India Beach Fashion Week).

 

2. Please explain your business? Business model? How has it evolved over the years? Where do you operate from?

Ans.  Based in Mumbai, we started as a COCO (Company Owned Co. Operated) model. Over the years we evolved to FOCO (Franchisee Owned Co. operated) & FOFO (Franchisee Owned Franchisee Operated) models.

 

3. What were the initial challenges? and How did you overcome them?

Ans.  When we started, Nails was considered luxury with only the select few who would like to opt for. Our challenge was to create awareness, increase the audience & make it affordable. Over the years, we pioneered in launching niche services like Nails, Eyelashes & Permanent Makeup to India which kept us ahead of the game. We started sourcing products from across the globe for making it affordable as there was not much demand & supply available. We converted into a fully fledged salon to offer basic services like Hair, Manicure, Pedicure & Beauty to our existing customers who always demanded it.

 

4. How big is the potential for a business like yours?

Ans.  The demand has just started to explode. We have a long way with our niche services & experience that we offer. Every other woman would have Nails, Eyelashes or Eyebrows done, the day is not too far!

 

5. Where did you get the seed funding from? Did you bootstrap it initially? Towards what purpose did you use it (infrastructure, staff, technology…)? Please mention all rounds of funding, the amount, and the investors (angel, VCs…)

Ans.  It’s bootstrapped & self funded till date. Large part of the funds was utilized to grow our salon presence across Mumbai, Kochi & Goa. We invested heavily in our back end processes & built our own proprietary ERP solution to enable Technology & Intelligence to the business.

 

6. How many outlets do you have in Mumbai and what are the expansion plans in other cities?

Ans.  In total, we have 12 Outlets. Out of which 8 outlets are in Mumbai (Locations such as, Colaba, Breach Candy, Prabhadevi, Khar, Bandra, Versova, Lokhandwala and recently we were successful in launching India’s first Airport Salons in Mumbai at T1 & T2 Airport Departure. Apart from these outlets, we have 1 in Kochi & 2 in Goa (Panjim, Calangute).

 

As mentioned earlier, we have FOCO & FOFO as franchisee options across India. Our franchise fee is Rs.7.5lacs for approx 400-500sq.ft carpet area. We provide full support & guidance on the salon setup with training, marketing & start up hand holding.

 

7. Kindly tell us about the challenges you faced in getting outlets at GVK T1 and T2 Mumbai Airport?

Ans. Every material that went inside needed security check & clearance while setup & interiors. Due to this we made most of our furniture & fixtures outside to speed up the project. Team working at the site would need to do regular check out & check-in at intervals for security reasons which gave us less time for execution. Once ready, we have to run 3 shifts & keep the salon 24×7 operational which was a task in the beginning but now it’s become a part our of SOP.

 

8. What are the ongoing offers?

Ans. We understand that most travellers will be concerned about high prices since everything at the airport is costly, so we have decided to offer services starting at INR 350 only and also as a sweet gesture we will be serving complimentary tea and coffee to our esteemed customers. Also adding to the excitement, part of Welcome Offer –The salons at the airport will be offering a 25% discount on all its services till 15th May 2020 and 20% special off at all high street locations.

 

9. What are the Current challenges?

Ans.  Expansion in other Metros, Airports, Tier 1 & Tier 2 cities. For this we are in the process to raise funds & deploy it towards profitable outcome not for the sake of increasing the numbers.

 

10. Who is your competition (or who comes closest to being your competitor?). What is your USP… key differentiators…?

Ans.  We don’t consider anyone close to us as competitors. We are the leaders & the largest nail salon brand in India. Still to consider it would be Glory, due to her long years in the business.

 

11. What is your business goal? Please mention other businesses, if any?

Ans.  Over the next 12 months, we aim to launch in locations in various states in India and on airports in the first phase of the growth plan. Within the next two years, plans are in the offing to take NS Style Salon beyond Indian shores to other countries.

 

12. Please mention interesting incident/s (for anecdotal value) encountered during your entrepreneurial journey.

Ans.  We are India’s 1st Airport Salon. It took us approx 1.5 -2.0 years to make it a reality.

 

13. Where do you see yourself five years down the road?

Ans.  Being a pan India brand with 50 locations, global presence & profit making creating benchmark in the industry.

 

14. If people wish to know more about your product/services how can they contact you?

Ans.  You may visit, www.nssalons.com or call Ms. Farheen +91 96790 14888