New cosmetic mogul on the block
New cosmetic mogul on the block

An alumnus of the Harvard Business School, Samir Modi has played an instrumental role in starting the first Indian network marketing company- Modicare. In 2004, Modi felt the need for an Indian cosmetic brand offering products at par with international brands, yet attuned to the contemporary Indian women, which led him to establish ColorBar Cosmetics. 

Shubhra Saini (SS): Why have you chosen Select City Walk mall to open your first store?
Samir Modi (SM):
I think Select City Walk is the most successful mall in our country right now. It has a perfect mix of prestigious brands as well as mid-positioned brands and who does not want to be among good brands. So it’s an ideal place for us to start our flagship store from.

SS: Where you want to position ColorBar in the cosmetic market?
SM:
We are a premium brand but just below the high end prestigious cosmetic brands, but our formulations and product quality is at par with any other prestigious brand. Our products are manufactured in Germany, Italy, France and Greece.

SS: Who are your target audience?
SM:
Our target audience is young people who fall under the age group of 18 to 25. 

SS: Where do you see ColorBar as a cosmetic brand 5 years from now?
SM:
We are among the top 3 cosmetic brands in the country and we will be having large market share in future. We are growing at a rapid spree than what colour cosmetic industry is growing as a whole.

SS: What are the business strategies you will have to compete with the other prominent cosmetic brands?
SM:
We have great innovative products with reasonable price range. We offer what other prestigious brands offer but in ¼ of its price. I think our products don’t stand second to any other prestigious brand in terms of quality.

SS: What kind of promotional activities ColorBar will have to promote itself? Are you planning to romp in some celebrity to endorse your brand?
SM:
Yes, we will advertise our brand and I am sure its goodwill will grow through the word of mouth. But I won’t be romping in any model or actress to endorse my brand because for me every Indian woman is a celebrity and my product is a tribute to the deep hidden beauty of every Indian woman that can be enhanced with ColorBar.

SS: What are the retail formats you are having?
SM:
We are going to have more shop-in-shop retail formats in multi-brand outlets (MBO’s). We will also have more stand alone stores in future.

SS: What are your expectations from your flagship stores?
SM:
This new stand alone store of ours will help us in repositioning; it will give more awareness to the customer. Now our target group customers will know exactly where we are located. 

SS: What are your expansion plans?
SM:
Six months from now we will be opening our other stand alone stores in Noida, Gurgaon and Delhi. We want to have our standalone stores in Delhi and NCR. 


   
 

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