India’s first retailer of premium men’s cosmetics and grooming essentials

Men and boyS is India’s first retail chain catering exclusively to men’s grooming needs.  It retails a wide range of men’s cosmetics, shaving essentials, skincare products, hair care & styling products, deodorants and fragrances.  Treatments such as bridegroom make-overs, detox & rejuvenate facials, neck, shoulder and feet revivals, hair reduction and acne reduction are also offered by appointment.
Men and boyS opened its first store at Mantri Square mall in Bangalore, India’s largest shopping centre, in May 2010.  A flagship store cum grooming lounge will open in The Collection at UB City in October 2010 and the first shop-in-shop counter will open in November at Prestige The Man Store on Bangalore’s famous Com Street. The products are also available online for delivery to most places in India.  The chain is now planning to grow multifold through EBOs and shop-in-shop counters strategically placed in some of India’s most popular department stores, upscale supermarkets and specialty men’s stores. The plan is to have 30 retail outlets by 2013.  Locations have been finalized in Mumbai, Pune and Hyderabad.
Men and boyS is a division of Arus Retail, founded by Amit Bagaria of Asipac Group, which comprises India’s largest mall planning and letting company, a multiple award wining real estate marketing consultant, a highly respected retail research & consulting firm and a mall management company.  Asipac has advised on retail / shopping centre projects of more than 15.57 million square feet, including seven of the 15 largest malls in India. 
Amit Bagaria realized that cosmetics made for men were not available in India and that most cosmetics giants just re-label women’s products as pour homme (for men).  “Most cosmetics brands sell over-scented products created for women, but packed in male components,” commented Bagaria. Thus, he went into further research and discovered that there were many companies around the world that make cosmetics, styling and grooming products especially for men’s skin. 
Bagaria started Men and boyS because “men’s skin is different from women’s skin – thicker and oilier, prone to acne, irritation, razor bumps and ingrown hair as an after effect of shaving, it (men’s skin) is 24% thicker than women’s skin, it’s blood flow is 50% more, its PH is more acidic and it ages faster.”
After testing 34 brands from around the world, Bagaria hand-picked products from 15 highly acclaimed and award winning brands from USA, UK, Canada, Australia, France and Switzerland, including 4VOO, Amenity, Anatomicals, Baxter, Billy Jealousy, Dermalogica, Eyre, Kyoku, LS&B Grooming, Osmium, Polaar and Task.  Most of these brands are being retailed in India for the first time. Eleven of the 12 brands do not make products for women at all. 
These brands are retailed at Harrods, Galeries Lafayette, Selfridges, Saks, BHV, Sephora, Bloomingdales, Nordstrom, Daimaru, Barneys and Harvey Nichols. Many of the products have won men’s grooming awards from leading magazines such as Men’s Health, Maxim, FHM, Pure Beauty, Instinct, GQ and Esquire.
“These are the kind of products used by celebs such as Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Leonardo diCaprio, Michael Douglas, Al Pacino, Johnny Depp, Robbie Williams, Bono, Prince, Matt Damon, Dustin Hoffman and Sir Elton John,” Bagaria added.
“The average man spends 37 days in his life on shaving. Beard hair is almost as hard as copper wire of the same thickness. Cheap shaving foam does not do justice to this and Indian men are fast realizing this, as their counterparts globally have realized in the last few years,” says Ritu Bagaria, co-founder, “it’s time to start shaving like real men and treat your skin better as you cant replace it.”
“In addition to healing, most after shaves and face moisturizers sold by us also protect, soften, condition, cool and calm skin with anti-ageing ingredients,” she added, “they reduce shaving rash, heal any nicks/cuts and moisturize the skin.”

The range of products at Men and boyS includes face washes, scrubs & masks, pre-shave oils, guards, treatments & optimizers, shaving creams, gels & lathers, after shave creams, balms, astringents, toners, soothers & moisturizers, anti breakout gel, spot stick, pore reducing serum, oil control lotion, eye gels, creams, fuels, masks, serums & complexes, lip protectors, balms, fuels & serums, hair styling pomades, waxes, gums, clays & puttys, hair follicle revitalizers, body washes, scrubs & lotions, spot sticks, day balms, night creams, shampoos, conditioners, anti-ageing creams, revive gels for tired muscles, foot spray, hand creams & guards, anti-perspirants, deodorants and fragrances.
The products include certified 100% organic products, 98% natural products and cosmecutical products, retailed at prices ranging from `190 to `9350.   The cosmetics, skin and hair care market in India is currently valued at $44 million p.a. and is growing at more than 25% p.a, with men’s skin and hair care growing at 46% p.a. 
You can learn more about Men and boyS by visiting www.menandboys.in or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/menandboys