Indian beauty and lifestyle retailer Nykaa has entered into a partnership with Middle East’s Apparel Group to build distinctive Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) focused beauty offerings in the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain.

Founded in 2012 by Falguni Nayar, Nykaa is said to have disrupted the Indian beauty market with its expertise in content to commerce to enhance shopping experiences for online and offline customers in India. It has 112 retail stores and is serviceable to around 28,000 pincodes with more than 4500 brands across its platforms.

The company is now focused on the beauty segment and building strong partnerships with domestic and international brands for GCC’s beauty-forward customers.

Headquartered in the UAE, the Apparel Group was founded in 1996 by Sima Ved and has more than 2000 stores in 14 countries with over 75 lifestyle and beauty brands.

Sima Ved — Apparel Group Founder and Chairperson said: “Since its inception in 1996, the Apparel Group has been focused on addressing the changing needs of its diverse customers across our presence in GCC, India, Southeast Asia & Africa. We understand our markets and our consumers & continually strive to exceed their expectations through our innovative and forward-thinking mindset.

“Our omnichannel approach, which includes the first ever Phygital store in the GCC region, has made us the partner of choice for a large plethora of brands. This alliance is going to be a new chapter in our expansion journey as we look forward to leveraging each other’s strengths and offer unique value proposition to our consumers in the GCC region.

“So, we are ready to embark on what will be history in the making.”

The partnership between Nykaa and the Apparel Group is said to bring together each other’s strengths to offer GCC a seamless, beauty shopping experience which is claimed to be highly curated and discovery-led. GCC is said to offer a huge opportunity for Nykaa to extend its offering and drive the area’s offline and online retail growth with the Apparel Group in the beauty and personal care category.

Falguni Nayar — Nykaa Founder and CEO said: “Over the last decade, we have focused on building a formidable assortment of beauty offerings for the Indian consumer, bringing them the most coveted brands, trends and experiences from across the globe. Emboldened and encouraged by the love and trust of consumers in India, we now look forward to recreating our distinct beauty retail value proposition internationally, beginning with the GCC, with the Apparel Group.

“Much like our own story, the Apparel Group has written their success in the GCC owing to an acute sense of consumer needs and a solid foundation of offline retail that includes robust local partnerships, fulfillment centers and supply chain models. Through this alliance, we are confident of growing the GCC beauty market and bringing the best of both brands to a new world of consumers.”

  Apparel Group, Bahrain, Falguni Nayar, Kuwait, Middle East, Nykaa, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Sima Ved