Designer Masaba Gupta, who sold a majority stake in her company to Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd (ABFRL) last year, is set to expand the share of business under LoveChild By Masaba, her beauty line.
Gupta, known for designing bold prints and fusion outfits, unveiled her beauty line in 2016-17 as a limited edition of lip colours in association with Hindustan Unilever Ltd’s Lakme brand. The designer-turned-actor also partnered beauty retailer Nykaa to sell lip colours, fragrances and nail paints. Last year, she launched a fresh range of cosmetics under LoveChild; the designer also launched concealers, foundations and perfumes last month.
“Apparel is currently the larger chunk of the business, with the split between apparel and beauty being 80:20. However, this could change slightly throughout the year, as the distribution for LoveChild is still very limited. We currently only have offline retail at the House of Masaba stores. Of course, we plan to grow into kiosks in malls and to get into EBOs (Exclusive Brand Outlets) with retailers such as Shoppers Stop, Lifestyle, and others,” Gupta said in an interview.
Gupta, who started her womenswear label at the age of 19, said the pandemic had a negative impact on businesses like hers, as temporary store closures and falling consumer sentiment eroded demand. The fashion industry, especially for designers such as Gupta, whose collection hinges on weddings and festivities, was clearly in jeopardy.
However, the pandemic also helped Gupta “future-proof” her brand and build a business that could withstand similar setbacks in the future. “It forced us to take a good hard look at all the things that we had been avoiding,” she said. During the pandemic, the designer closed four stores, but the store count has since been restored. Gupta currently has over 10 stores in India.
In early 2022, Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail acquired a 51% stake in the House of Masaba for ₹90 crore. The investment gave ABFRL further foothold in the women’s wear category, while helping Gupta scale her business.
Gupta said the brand is on track to achieve revenue targets.
“Apparel being the older, more established brand is, of course, a larger chunk of the business. But at the same time, I’m very proud of LoveChild. Because I know the kind of cash that brands have to burn in the beauty space—that is not sustainable. We are not chasing a valuation dream, we are chasing profitability and scale. We’re trying to do it in a manner where the cash burn is optimized,” she said.
The expansion comes as India’s beauty market is set for rapid growth. Pure play beauty brands are set to capture a greater share of the market, according to a recent report by Redseer Consulting.
During her early conversations with Ashish Dikshit, managing director, ABFRL, Gupta laid out her plans to be an all-encompassing lifestyle brand. “I want to scale up across the board. We want to be a house of brands. We want to become a 360-degree, lifestyle brand that has everything from beauty, to fragrances, to home decor, to anything you can put a print on, really,” said Gupta, who draws inspiration from American designer Tory Burch, whose collections range from handbags to ready-to-wear clothing, footwear, and accessories.
Gupta is also planning a move away from only being an “affordable luxury” brand to becoming a luxury one.
“We’re going up the price bracket. We’re going to pivot into becoming a luxury apparel brand. I think the affordable luxury story has been established. That part of the brand will become the international story—with more resort wear and affordable luxury pieces, etc. Then we have the Indian luxury, which I won’t say much about, but there’s a lot happening. It’s a new range,” she added.