There is a 35-50% increase in demand for beauty advisers, sales personnel and beauticians, said top executives from ManpowerGroup India and Teamlease Staffing.
According to industry estimates about 500,000-600,000 people have got employed in the beauty and cosmetics segment – in the organised and unorganised sectors – in the last two years, post Covid.
According to industry estimates, this segment is growing at around 16-20% — 13-14% offline and 35% online. Pre-Covid, the growth was around 10-11%.
This is primarily driven by a pickup in the offline format, proliferation of retail outlets of beauty brands including Nykaa, Sephora, Mamaearth and Sugar Cosmetics, a significant expansion by traditional players like Hindustan Unilever, Procter & Gamble and L’Oreal, as well as an increase in online purchase through ecommerce channels.
“The manpower requirement in the beauty segment has multiplied in the last two years,” said Angshuman Bhattacharya, national leader — consumer and retail at EY. There has been a significant increase in demand after the slowdown in the offline format during the pandemic, he said.“With several online brands going offline, there is a need for beauty advisers and sales teams,” Bhattacharya said. “Besides, the traditional players like HUL are also expanding significantly — both in terms of growth and penetration. The expanding companies are adding 10,000-20,000 retail outlets every year, which is leading to a huge demand for manpower.”“There is almost 50% more demand in the beauty segment compared to last year,” said Alok Kumar, president, manpower, ManpowerGroup India. He attributes it to a surge in consumption in the sector with many new stores and several new brands coming up.
The sector is also generating large employment opportunities for women – with a 70-80% representation in the beauty adviser segment, 30% in sales teams and 80% among beauticians.
Balasubramanian A, vice president & head – consumer & ecommerce, Teamlease Staffing, said: “We have seen a 30% increase in demand for people across the beauty category.”
While the frequency of purchase will increase due to the upcoming festivities, he said the sector as a whole has seen a pickup throughout the year due to a rise in consumption post Covid, as seen from the increase in both the quantity and value of the products purchased.
According to a recent McKinsey report, ‘The beauty market in 2023’, the country is expected to emerge as the new hot spot for beauty products in the longer term.
“Most of the festivals are in the second half of the year. There are a whole lot of family events and marriages. All this leads to a rise in demand for people in the beauty space,” said Lohit Bhatia, president of workforce management, Quess Corp.