“It has been a journey we never thought would go this far,” says C. K. Kumaravel, smiling, as his wife, K. Veena nods in agreement. The couple runs Naturals, a chain of beauty salons that is rapidly leaving footprints all over South India. In fact, they were in the city to officially open their luxury salon, Page 3, an advanced hair and skin makeover studio for the “high profile and elite” crowd.
Their success story is textbook material, for they had seen hard times before lady luck smiled upon them. From the first salon that they opened in Chennai in 2000, in the next 12 years it rose to 128 and now the figure has touched a whopping 444, with branches all across India and counting. The duo introduced the concept of unisex salons, which wasn’t welcomed initially. But now, besides the unisex salons, the brand has Naturals Lounge (premium salon), Naturals W (women’s only salon), Page 3 (luxury salons) and Star Cuts (men’s only). They have opened training academies as well.
“I wanted to do something on my own, that’s all. Setting up a salon was one of the options before me and it clicked,” says Veena, who founded the venture, before Kumaravel wound up his own business and joined her. Business runs in the family for both of them. Kumaravel was working with his brother C. K. Ranganathan, now the head of Cavinkare, before he started a company on his own. But after initial success he burnt his fingers and it was then that the couple zeroed in on a business which they both were confident about. Thus was born Naturals.
The going wasn’t easy as it took four years for the company to break even. “We didn’t give up. What really set us going was the management strategy we adopted. Our role model is Anita Roddick, founder of Body Shop. We stressed on the quality of our products, customer relations and the service. We closely followed her business strategies and ideas, which included franchise ownership. The booming IT industry too helped. I always feel that we are a by product of the influence on a generation created by the Narayana Murthys, Azim Premjis and the like,” says Kumaravel. Veena adds: “We also have skilled manpower, most of them from North–East, who are extremely disciplined and dedicated.”
The duo has opened salons in small towns and are planning to open branches in the Middle East, which, according to Kumaravel, is an untapped market. “We don’t differentiate between large and small cities, because every household in India is hooked to television, which exposes them to the latest in fashion and beauty. The best thing is a good number of our franchise owners are our own staff, including the owners of the Page 3 salon here,” says the couple. Their aim is to have as many salons as possible, thereby creating more entrepreneurs, especially women, and more job opportunities.
Talking about Page 3, Kumaravel calls it “a salon for the stars.” It is their fifth Page 3 and the first one in Kerala. The next will open in Kochi soon, and more are in the pipeline. With already two Naturals salons in the capital city, it was quite easy for them to read the pulse of their clients. “We have a range of services, be it in hair styling, bridal make-up or beauty care. It all revolves around updating ourselves with the latest trends. Bollywood, cricket, football… everything influence fashion and so we always have to be ready to deliver what the clients want. For example, the ‘Anushka cut’ (Anushka Sharma’s pixie cut in PK ) is in now, while for bridal make-up Aishwarya Rai’s Jodha Akbar look was in demand for sometime,” says Kumaravel.
Page 3 has exclusive VIP and bridal rooms. Hair texture therapies, skin care facilities, nail design bar, specialised bridal makeover services and spa services are some of the highlights. As for the Kerala market, they feel that the state has a long way to go. Even though beauty parlours and salons are mushrooming, the sector is unorganised in Kerala, Kumaravel says. “From being unorganised you have to become specialised and then personalised. The state isn’t entrepreneur-friendly, but predominantly job-friendly with lots of opportunities,” Kumaravel says.
Page 3 is located at Sree Dhanya Apex, near Indira Bhavan, Vellayambalam.
