To ur good health

Vandhana Luthra has done her bit in the Indian beauty & health space. In conversation with Angshuman Paul, she reveals how her journey has only just begun...
When you put your mind to it, there are quite a few critical character traits that would differentiate a good leader from a great one. One of them would definitely be respect for time. As we came face to face with Vandana Luthra, the exceptionally flamboyant yet incessantly professional founder of VLCC, this particular aspect of her personality had us pleasantly surprised, for she was at the venue half an hour before the scheduled time! Her retort, “I never ever want to keep any one waiting,” really set the pace for the interview! Of course, punctuality is not the only aspect which sets Vandhana Luthra apart. To find out more about what makes her click, be with us as we introduce you to the woman who has been relentlessly improving India’s beauty & wellness quotient over the years, as she reveals her game plans with VLCC for 2008.

It was not easy to create country’s largest wellness brand and she gets instantly nostalgic while describing the journey till date. The year was 1989 when ‘beauty business’ was hardly a buzz word (but then again, neither was globalisation!), and there were few skilled professionals in the field. “But at the same time, the demand for such beauty care products & services was there. This was truly motivating and hence we started VLCC. Man power was a major problem, but our organisation was so transparent that we were able to attract many freshers,” explains Vandhana.

That was the beginning and no looking back. With the quest to create something new, VLCC started expanding its arms in various dimensions of health & beauty business. And with its aggressive expansion approach, VLCC proliferated into a pan-India brand. Adds Vandhana, “But we were very choosy about expansion. At the end of the day, you need money, so you can’t go anywhere. Locality, income, & purchasing power were major determinants and we didn’t want to compromise with brand image, so we avoided the franchisee model as much as possible. Even today, in tier II or towns, (only) where we can’t go directly, we have franchisee.”

Such strategies, bucked up with first mover advantage, did the wonder for VLCC. Today, with a sturdy team of 4,000 persons, 300 centres and an exorbitant customer base of more than a million, VLCC dominates the slimming & beauty market, with market share of 40%.

The year 2007 evinced them into new arenas like fast food chain. Coined as VLCC Alive, it’s claimed to be the country’s first healthy & smart eating restaurant. But even Shahnaz Hussain is planning to unleash similar type of food joints (in the form of coffee chain). Moreover, Shahnaz already has a flank of Indian herbal brand in global market. Add to this, the threat from FMCG behemoths like Marico, HUL, who are sounding the battle cry with their beauty salons. So are the pillars of VLCC shaken? Ask her that and she’s ready with the answer, “See, ours is a totally different business and our positioning is also different. We are more into slimming & healthy diet business rather than beauty business. Players also exist in this segment, but it’s much unorganised and not professionally managed, like ours.”


Not a hollow boast, as VLCC is one of the very few orgnisations in this sector, which gets its annual audit done by Ernst & Young. She believes in transparency in the organisation and this is one of the reasons for this strict annual audit. This is also helping her generate funds for VLCC and now she’s gung ho with IPO plans as well. Yes, you read it right. Come 2008 and VLCC will roll out its first IPO. Her entire team is chalking out plans for this as they are in a mission to make VLCC a Rs.10 billion company by 2008. “The way we are growing, I don’t find it at all difficult; moreover even if the IPO is at end of 2008, our existing business will help us to achieve this turnover. We are looking for fresh properties also and for new ventures also.”

But the cautious aggression strategy is intact, as VLCC will engage in extensive feasibility studies before entering any business. As Vandhana sums it up, “You have to keep your consumer in mind and at the same time minimise your cost.” VLCC is aiming to consolidate its global position, as it’s planning 28 centres in the Middle East.

Banking on her team, she is pledging to be more united as she claims that’s the responsibility of a true leader. According to her, a true leader must be a patient listener as well as she affirms, “If you don’t listen to your people, how can you know the problems faced by them and if you cannot addressed problems, then you cannot expect better inputs from them. Also, I feel a true leader should try to motivate his/her people.” Her ideal in terms of leadership is none other than the Indian National Congress President Sonia Gandhi. She appreciates how Sonia Gandhi has taken the leadership role while denying the power position, and is also inspired by the way Sonia Gandhi has maintained a caring image amongst party members. The parallel is evident – Vandhana has not taken up an official designation in her company either.

In her busy schedule and whenever she manages to get time from travelling, she likes spending time with her family. “I also have a fascination for sports, I enjoy swimming a lot,” she adds. So the penchant for fitness seems to come right from the top. And as we bid her goodbye, she shares with us her new year wish, “Let everyone be healthy.” Whether just to remain politically correct or genuinely, few would dare disagree with Luthra on that at least!

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist)