Nykaa Expects Beauty Sales Growth in the Late Twenties as Stores Post Best Same-Store Growth in Six Quarters

MUMBAI: Nykaa expects its beauty business to have grown net sales value and net revenue by a rate in the late twenties per cent in the July-September quarter, compared with a year earlier, the company said in a business update reported by Indian Retailer on October 5.

The growth was driven by continued omnichannel expansion, more new customers, more repeat purchases and better performance in its physical stores, the company said.

Stores lead

Like-for-like sales in Nykaa's beauty stores, which compare the same stores year on year, grew in the early twenties per cent, the highest rate for its store network in the last six quarters. The company added 14 net new stores during the quarter, taking its total to 338 offline stores as of September 30, and brought more than 250 new brands onto its platform.

For the group as a whole, Nykaa's parent FSN E-Commerce Ventures expects gross merchandise value to have grown close to 30 per cent, net sales value in the early thirties and net revenue in the late twenties, Startup Spotlight reported.

Its fashion business grew faster still. Nykaa expects fashion net sales value to have grown in the late forties and fashion net revenue in the early forties.

New customer acquisition drove the fashion business, and Nykaa's partnership with Nike saw early traction through exclusive product drops, the company said. It also noted a timing effect: a significant share of festive shopping moved into the October-December quarter rather than falling in the September quarter.

Last quarter

In the April-June quarter, Nykaa's operating revenue grew 29 per cent to ₹2,782 crore and its profit rose 3.3 times to ₹80 crore. The beauty segment contributed ₹2,516 crore and fashion ₹253 crore.

A fund for new brands

Separately, Nykaa has teamed up with BOLD, the corporate venture capital fund of French cosmetics group L'Oréal, to invest in emerging Indian beauty and wellness brands, the two companies announced on September 24.

They will take minority stakes in high-growth brands. The investments are purely financial and minority in nature, the companies said: founders keep full ownership control and continue to run their businesses with their own teams, culture and creative direction. Beyond money, the partners will offer mentorship and guidance, L'Oréal's global beauty expertise, and access to Nykaa's retail network and understanding of consumers.

"India is one of the most exciting beauty markets in the world," said Jacques Lebel, managing director of L'Oréal India, describing the aim as backing "founders with capital, mentorship, and L'Oréal's beauty expertise." Anchit Nayar, chief executive of Nykaa Beauty, said combining Nykaa's "strong consumer ecosystem, deep retail network and wide distribution" with L'Oréal's global expertise "will be an incredibly valuable asset."

BOLD was launched in 2018 and invests across the beauty value chain in high-growth startups while preserving their independence. Nykaa serves more than 60 million customers, according to the announcement, which counted 324 offline beauty destinations as of June 30; the September update puts the total at 338.

Same week, rival brands

The update came in the same week that Honasa Consumer, the maker of Mamaearth, said it expects its own net sales to grow in the low thirties in the September quarter, also led by physical retail. Nykaa's founder, Falguni Nayar, took a 14 per cent cut in fixed pay in 2025-26, to ₹74 lakh, according to Inc42's founder salaries tracker, published on October 6, the steepest reduction among the 16 founders it tracked.