India's Honasa Consumer, which owns beauty brands including BBlunt, is deepening its push into neighbourhood stores to drive double-digit revenue growth this fiscal, while also looking to revive its flagship Mamaearth brand, a top executive told Reuters.
The company, which currently serves more than 100,000 stores directly, plans to expand to another 50,000 stores in the current financial year that started on April 1, CEO and Co-founder Varun Alagh said late on Thursday.
Alagh expects brick-and-mortar growth, combined with growth in newer skincare brands Aqualogica and Dr. Sheth's, and a turnaround of Mamaearth, to drive revenue growth in the double-digit percentage range.
Honasa, which began as a direct-to-consumer baby care products startup in 2016, also owns beauty brands including Derma Co.
Analysts expect Honasa's revenue to jump 15% year-on-year to 23.71 billion rupees ($276.1 million) this fiscal, according to data compiled by LSEG. However, Alagh declined to say whether the company would exceed the forecast.
Honasa's forecast comes months after it came under fire for allegedly dumping excessive stock on Indian distributors without considering demand, a claim that the company has denied.
Alagh also declined to say when Mamaearth would return to growth, though he noted that Honasa would double down on its "focus categories" including face wash, shampoo, moisturizers, and sunscreen to revive the brand.
Honasa said last year that Mamaearth's growth had lagged its own expectations for the last few quarters due to shifting consumer preferences, with the company noting that it needed to refresh its products, price and marketing.
Honasa's revenue rose 8% to 20.67 billion rupees for the financial year ended March 31, but this trailed a 13% growth in volumes as a larger share of sales came through third-party stores that bring in less money per product.
