Shahnaz Husain on her entrepreneurial

journey in a candid conversation with

YourStory.in
Team YS | October 21, 2010 at 5:07 am

0
Shahnaz Husain`s journey as an entrepreneur is a great inspiration for all the young
entrepreneurs and startup ventures. Shahnaz Husain is one of the rare and few first generation
women entrepreneur, pioneer, visionary and an innovator, who introduced a totally new concept
of Ayurvedic Care and Cure worldwide. She created a brand with universal appeal and
application. Shahnaz Husain`s brand found place in the international market for Ayurvedic
beauty care. In a world ridden with environmental degradation, Shahnaz Husain ventured into
the world of nature and its healing powers, taking the Indian herbal heritage of Ayurveda to every
corner of the globe with a crusaders zeal.
When Shahnaz Husain was in Chennai recently for an assignment, she was candid in
her utterance when questions were thrown to her. The pioneer of Ayurvedic beauty
care has achieved unprecedented international acclaim for her practical application
of Ayurveda, the ancient Indian system of herbal healing. Just when there was a
worldwide back to nature trend, Shahnaz Husain recaptured an ancient herbal
system and made it relevant to modern demands.

Ms Husain explained how a person can get younger day-by-day by maintaining his or her health
in a phased and fine-tuned manner. It was indeed not surprising seeing the ever agile Shahnaz
who adopted the principle of Ayurveda, based on an integrated system of clinical treatments and
product ranges, almost four decades ago. In fact, her career has been a constant search for a
better alternative. After all, she firmly believed that there is a room for improvement.
The suave and soft-spoken, Shahnazs study of Ayurveda, the Indian holistic system of herbal
healing, strengthened her faith in nature after finding that it could offer the ideal answers to
protective, preventive and even corrective cosmetic-care. What started as a young women
entrepreneur`s dream is today one of the biggest brand in the cosmetic care space, the Shahnaz
Husain Group. Shahnaz Husain is the CEO and the Brand Ambassador of the group. Today, the
group has a chain of over 400 franchise clinics, shops, schools and spas worldwide, as well as
ayurvedic formulations for skin, hair, body and health care covering almost 138 coutries. Her
journey, from one herbal clinic to a worldwide chain, is one of unprecedented success. What
started as a small business at home at a time when internet was unheard of, went on to become
one of the greatest brands across the globe in the ayurvedic care segment.

The Group has also gone global with some of its other ventures like the Shahnaz
Husain Forever Beautiful lifestyle shops, Beauty Training Institutes, Ayurvedic entres and Shahnaz
Husain Ayurvedic Spas, all based on her franchise system. The bubblingly enthusiastic lady recently
extended her base in the UK, by opening two more franchise salons in London, in Finchley and
Middlesex, as well as a Shahnaz Ayurveda Aesthetic Clinic on Harley Street. The Groups
international presence is gaining further momentum. TESCO, the largest retailer of UK will sell
Shahnaz Husain herbal products across all its stores. According to Shahnaz Husain, Our alliance
with TESCO will help to reach a larger section of society in the UK. We are expanding our
footprints across the globe. We will take Ayurveda and Brand India to more countries within a
year, she asserts confidently.
The company is expanding rapidly and is entering Saudi Arabia, Israel, Myanmar and
Bangladesh, targeting revenue of Dollar 10 million from these countries during this year. The
Group also plans to tap the niche segment in the US, where there is an increasing interest in
alternative therapies. The Group also participated in COSMEXPO 2009 at Cairo, Egypt in
March, 2009, where Shahnaz Husain was Chief Guest and Cosmoprof in Italy, the biggest
worldwide event in the beauty sector.
Born into a conservative family, the mild-mannered Shahnaz says, I had to comply with existing
traditions and was married at a tender age of 15 and become a mother by the time I was 16. I
trained for ten years to keep abreast with the developments in cosmetic therapy and cosmetic
chemistry, at leading institutions of the West, like Helena Rubinstein, Swarzkopf, Christine
Valmy, Lancome and Lean of Copenhagen. Adopting the principle of Care and Cure, she set
up her own herbal clinic, at her residence, with very little capital investment, formulating
products for skin, hair and body care, based on the ayurvedic system and developing clinical
treatments for specific problems. Her formulations and treatments have become breakthroughs in
natural beauty care.
Shahnazs success, as she avers, in the international arena, in the face of great odds, is itself
phenomenal. Financial constraints and closed doors did not deter her from achieving her
cherished goal with flying colours.
Did fighting a lone battle in competing with the biggest brand names in the international
markets, where billions of dollars are spent on advertising and packaging affected her
confidence, morale and enthusiasm?
I always have complete faith in my own abilities and with invincible belief in Ayurveda, I
allowed my products to speak for themselves, she replied with a smile on her face, adding I
sold a 5000-year old civilization in a jar.

Some of Shahnaz`s greatest entrepreneurial achievement include Padma Shri Award First
entrepreneur person from the beauty sphere to receive the coveted Award. Ms Husains other
international awards include the Arch of Europe International Gold Star in Madrid, Spain, the
Quality Excellence Award in Geneva, Cannes and London, Golden America Award in New
York, the Outstanding Woman Entrepreneur Award in London, Woman of the Millennium
Award in USA, Woman of the Year Award from the Governor of California, USA and
the WQC International Star Award in Paris in November 2007 and Leonardo da Vinci
Diamond Award by International Biographical Centre, Cambridge, U.K.
Ms Husains innovations and spirit of enterprise are well matched. Never losing sight of the basic
nature principle and Ayurveda, her contribution to her field is unprecedented. Through her career,
regular columns and books, she has created an awareness of the dangers of chemical treatments
that has influenced minds and market demands. Her career is a portrayal of how she has
translated her ideas into reality, living life by her values and unique philosophy. Her profound
knowledge of natural care, her rare energy and vitality, as well as her faith in her own abilities,
make it a story of a woman who dared to dream and succeeded beyond success. Indeed, Shahnaz
Husain has become a legend in her own lifetime, while her organization, Shahnaz Herbals, is a
magnificent expression of her dreams, hopes and aspirations.
Is it not the time for other entrepreneurs to emulate her in their chosen profession? There is
nothing which cannot be learnt or done, concludes Shahnaz in her own inimitable style, as she
signs of for the day

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"Franchising is ideal for our business"

A brief history of the enterprise

Ankita Rai
June 10, 2013 Last Updated at 00:06 IST
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A brief history of the enterprise

I opened the first branch of Shahnaz Husain salon in Chanakypuri (New Delhi) in 1975. For
seven years, between 1971 and 1978, I was on my own. In 1979, my first franchised clinic
opened in Kolkata. Today, we have a chain of over 400 franchised salons in India and abroad.
How the idea of building a chain came about
Initially, our franchisee system was not a consciously conceived idea.A friend from Kolkata,
Threety Irani, came with a list of Shahnaz products she wanted to buy. At that time, the products
were only available at my salon. Many of them were therapeutic products for specific skin and
hair problems. She asked me to train her and her daughters so she could start her own beauty
salon. We worked out an agreement by which she would have the right to use the Shahnaz Herbal
name and carry out her specialised salon treatments, as well as sell the products. This agreement
later became our franchisee agreement. This was the start of our franchising business and also
my beauty training academies.
The Kolkata store got a fantastic response. Soon there was a clamour for franchises. I
encouraged and trained housewives to open salons in their own homes. Within the first year,
there were 80 franchised salons in India.
Things to keep in mind while venturing beyond home market
It is essential to have a good product distribution system in place. For salons, the preferred
location is a prominent commercial area/market, preferably on the ground floor with good
frontage, or on the first floor with easy accessibility.
Strategy/business model adopted for expansion
I thought franchising would be a good way of extending our salons and promoting our
specialised treatments. I established customised beauty care, based on personalised style. The
franchisee system proved ideal for this kind of service as we trained the franchisees ourselves. I
also adopted a distinct style to open the salons: it was all based on personal interaction, where I
met people, listened to their problems and provided beauty solutions. Thus, unknowingly, while

spreading ayurvedic beauty care, a brand was born, and our chain of franchised salons grew into
a global network.
Maintaining consistency of service across locations
The selection of the franchisee is a very critical decision because it is a key link in the chain.
Each franchisee has to undergo training and acquire the Shahnaz Husain diploma and postgraduate qualification in beauty at Shahnaz Husain's beauty school. Our franchisees are required
to have standardised interiors, equipment and a commitment to a positive customer experience.
The franchisee is provided with the necessary assistance in site selection, project management,
layout and interiors and marketing.
Is it more difficult building a service brand?
What is unique about the company is that Shahnaz Husain is not a faceless brand name or
corporation. The image that is foremost in the mind of the consumer is that of a real person who
is trained in cosmetology and cosmetic therapy. We have an integrated system of salon chains
and product excellence. This format is an integral part of our business strategy.
Challenges faced & lessons learnt
Entering the international market was the biggest challenge. India was not adequately
represented then. I participated in the Festival of India in London in 1980 on my own, and was
given a counter in the perfumery section at Selfridges (UK). The entire consignment sold out in
three days. From there, we moved on to Harrods in London, Galeries Lafayette in Paris, the
Seibu chain in Japan and La Rinascente in Milan.
Setting up a countrywide distribution network was also a big challenge as our salons were
expanding fast.
If you had to start over, what would you do differently
I would follow the same strategy.
Shahnaz Husain
founder & CMD, Shahnaz Husain Group of Companies
Read more on:
Chanakypuri
|
Shahnaz Husain
|

Shahnaz Husain Group

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