Revlon launches Colorstay range of make-up

Cosmetics major Modi Revlon - a 76:24 joint venture between Modi Mundi Pharma and Revlon, USA - completed its Colorstay range of make-up with the launch of Colorstay Liquid Lip, Colorstay Liquid Make-up, Colorstay Concealer and Moisturestay in seven cities including the capital yesterday.

All the products under the Colorstay umbrella are in the price range of Rs 200-300. Colorstay Liquid Make-up, which has five shades, is priced at Rs 299; Colorstay Concealer (two shades) sports a price tag of Rs 219; Moisturestay, which comes in four shades, is priced at Rs 275; Colorstay Liquid Lip, with six India-specific shades, is available at Rs 229.

The August 16 launch touched seven cities - Delhi, Mumbai, Chandigarh, Calcutta, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai. Subsequently, the range will be launched in other metros and mini metros covering a total of 20-23 cities. By the year end, the complete range will be available in 500 premium outlets. The launch will be supported by print ads. Apart from Femina and Elle, regional magazines such as Sananda and Roopatara will be used to address the target segment.

After its shaky start in India in 1994, Revlon finally seems to be on its way. "We have come a long way since then. The fact that we have grown by 14 per cent last (calendar) year and have been growing consistently at 25 per cent this year is enough evidence," says Amrita Singh Deol, senior marketing manager, Modi Revlon Ltd. The organised colour cosmetics market is estimated at Rs 340 crore currently. Revlon's sales account for Rs 60 crore of that. Lakme leads the market with sales of Rs 100 crore.

What seems to have turned the market for Revlon was the launch of the Mini range in 1999. The range comprises Mini nail enamel and lipstick. The experiment was driven by the company's in-house research that showed a woman never really finishes a lipstick or a bottle of nail enamel because she gets bored with the shades.

This realisation prompted the company to launch its colour cosmetics in LUPs (low unit packs) at scaled down prices, thus making it available to a wider consumer base. Deol points out, "Revlon was the first to launch the concept of Minis, a trend that has been picked up by most others in the industry. We have set another interesting trend. Today Revlon is synonymous with ‘shade predictions' for the season."

Revlon is hopeful that Colorstay too will be received well by the market. Deol reasons, "The woman of today has an attractive range of make-up to chose from - both international and domestic. However, with her hectic schedules, it becomes increasingly difficult for her to touch her make-up several times in the day. Ironically, no company offers her make-up that could last through the day." Colorstay proposes to fill that need. "The Colourstay woman need not bother about her eyeliner getting smudged or the lipstick vanishing," Deol is emphatic.

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