The Italian luxury brand’s first store in India will open at a high-end mall in Delhi
Mumbai: Fans of Italian luxury brand Prada are in for a treat this Christmas as its first beauty store in India is slated to open next month.
“The first Prada beauty boutique is signed and the work is in progress at Nexus Select Citywalk… We are trying to open it before Christmas,” Biju Kassim, chief executive officer of Shoppers Stop’s beauty business told IndiaRetailing.
Prada Beauty is coming to India through Global SS Beauty Brands Ltd. (GSSBB), the distribution arm of Shoppers Stop. GSSBB has a distribution partnership with L’Oreal International Division, which houses Giorgio Armani, Prada, YvesSaintLaurent, Valentino, Mugler, Viktor & Rolf, Azzaro, Ralph Lauren, Maison Margiela and Atelier Cologne Paris among others.
Prada has been growing its footprint across the globe. As per Statista, Prada operated 606 owned stores and 25 franchised stores worldwide in 2023.
Prada Beauty was launched around the year 2023 and its range comprises fragrances and colour products including makeup and skincare. Embracing sustainability, the brand offers an entire range of refillable products starting at $55.
Prada’s first tryst with the beauty business was back in 2000, which got shut down. It re-entered the beauty segment in August last year with the launch of makeup and skincare ranges via a licensing agreement with French cosmetic conglomerate L’Oréal, which acquired Prada’s fragrance license in 2019.
Prada Beauty launched its first pop-up store at Incheon International Airport Terminal 2 in Korea, opening in July 2024. The pop-up was a collaboration with Shinsegae Duty Free (Shinsegae DF) and ran until 25 August 2024.
In India, Prada plans to be available through multiple touchpoints. “We will have more boutiques coming in but at this point, this is the store we are focussing on. There will also be shop-in-shops and gondolas in leading beauty stores but that is for later,” Kassim, a beauty retail veteran who has worked with leading brands across the Middle-East said.
Shoppers Stop also recently opened Bobbi Brown and Jo Malone London from Estée Lauder at DLF Promenade in New Delhi a few days before the Armani Boutique.
Beauty has been Shoppers Stop’s strength since its launch in 1991 and it pivoted from being a department store-only company to a distributor of international beauty brands in February 2022 by launching GSSBB as a 100% subsidiary.
“Distribution is important for our overall growth,” Kassim had told IndiaRetailing in an earlier interview.
“Our desire as a company is to ensure we supply to every retailer, not just to Shoppers Stop,” he added.
The business has been doing well. In the second quarter of the financial year 2025, the beauty distribution business under GSSBB clocked sales of Rs 52 crore registering a year-on-year growth of 130% as per the company’s quarterly results.
Over the years, Select Citywalk located in New Delhi’s Saket has been the preferred entry point for several international brands entering the Indian market. These include Gap, Muji, Chanel, Zara, H&M, Bath & Body Works and Foot Locker.
The mall which offers 0.5 million sq. ft. leasable area is recognised as one of India’s highest-performing assets based on tenant sales per square foot, as per Nexus Trust’s website.
