Japan-based Shiseido Asia Pacific on Wednesday signed a strategic distribution partnership agreement with Global SS Beauty Brands, a subsidiary of Shoppers Stop, to expand its brand footprint in India. Through the partnership, Shiseido Group will officially launch its global make-up brand, NARS Cosmetics (NARS, headquartered in New York), in second half of 2023 in key cities in India.

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Shares of Shoppers Stop are trading at Rs 642, down 0.40 percent from the previous close on the BSE.

“We believe this a great time to expand our presence in India, and we are thrilled to have formalised the partnership with Global SS Beauty Brand/ Shoppers Stop. We look forward to leveraging their deep experience in premium beauty as well as their extensive network and omnichannel presence, to bring one of our most-loved make-up brands, NARS, to consumers in India,” said Nicole Tan, President & CEO, Shiseido Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd.

With its headquarters in Japan, Shiseido Company (Shiseido) is one of the top 5 manufacturers of cosmetics in the world. Its portfolio of renowned skincare, cosmetics, and fragrance brands includes SHISEIDO, NARS, Drunk Elephant, Clde Peau Beaut Narciso Rodriguez, Issey Miyake, and Serge Lutens, among others.

“Our partnership with Shiseido Asia Pacific is in line with our commitment to bring to customers in India the best of Global brands. This collaboration will further strengthen Shoppers Stop’s purpose of inspiring consumers to look good and feel confident and will help grow the rapidly evolving beauty market in India. Our wide network and strong omnichannel presence will serve as a springboard for Shiseido, and will allow NARS to launch in India with higher speed and efficiency.” said Venu Nair, Customer Care Associate, MD and CEO at Shoppers Stop in a regulatory filing.

Shoppers Stop was founded in 1991. The business, which is spread across 96 department stores, also runs 142 specialty beauty stores in addition to eight high-end home concept stores.

Also read: Shoppers Stop sees strong festive sales driven by footfalls in store as well as eyeballs online

Last month Shoppers Stop announced that it will launch a footwear brand under the existing clothing labels Fratini and Altlife.

Apart from that, Shoppers Stop is also focusing on bringing in exclusive brands into the company’s ecosystem, Nair said, and cited the example of custom clothing brand Zapelle. He said it is a trial that the company is carrying out with e-Shakti in the US. It brought Zapelle into India and has set it up in its store in Mumbai’s Malad as a pilot.

Shoppers Stop’s aim is to open 10-15 beauty outlets every year apart from the 10-12 department stores. “Year to date, we have now opened 9 department stores and we have got 11 beauty stores,” Nair told CNBC-TV18.

Also read: Shoppers Stop to launch new footwear brand under Fratini and Altlife labels