Falguni Nayar, CEO and MD of popular beauty and fashion e-commerce platform— Nykaa has just been listed as India’s richest self-made woman. As Nykaa made its debut in the stock market on Wednesday, it took no time for owner Falguni Nayar to join the league of India’s wealthiest self-made female billionaire.
Early learning
Born and brought up in a Gujarati family in Mumbai, Falguni Nayar was raised in a business environment. Her parents ran a small business to do with manufacturing bearings. Being raised in such an environment, Falguni became familiar with the world of business.
She pursued a management degree from the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad, post which she went on to work as a management consultant with AF Ferguson & Company. She then joined the Kotak Mahindra Group in 1993 and worked as the managing director from 2005 to 2012.
Dare to Dream
Despite the great work environment at Kotak, Falguni had a “self-imposed deadline” of giving entrepreneurship a shot by the time she was 50. And so began her journey with Nykaa. Derived from the Sanskrit word ‘Nayaka’, meaning one in the spotlight, Nykaa was launched with an investment of $2 million.
Photo Courtesy: Nykaa / Instagram
Nykaa emerged as one of India’s leading lifestyle-focused consumer technologies platforms since its launch, with over 3,826 brands and 70 stores in 30 cities and even expanded its product categories by introducing online platforms Nykaa Fashion and Nykaa Man.
Breaking Records
97% of Nykaa’s gross merchandise value (GMV) comes from online sales with a contribution of 63% from tier II and tier III cities. With a reported net profit of Rs 61.96 crores compared to a net loss of Rs 16.34 crore Nykaa’s revenue grew 38% to INR 2,453 crores (as of March 31).
Nykaa’s parent company— FSN E-Commerce Ventures launched its IPO on October 28 which closed on November 1, raised as much as Rs 5,352 crore by offering shares in a price band of Rs 1,085 to 1,125, which was oversubscribed nearly 82 times.
Nykaa has diversified as well—from selling third-party beauty products to launching its own brands and entering the fashion business. Fashion is now 20% of its overall sales. In FY21, Nykaa’s gross merchandise value (GMV) jumped more than 50% to almost INR 4,046 crore.
Falguni Nayar with twins, Adwaita and Achint Nayar
At present, Falguni Nayar runs Nykaa with her twin children—Adwaita who is the co-founder and CEO of Nykaa Fashion, and Anchit who is the CEO of the beauty and e-commerce business.
