VLCC Institute of Beauty, Health and Management is all set to capture the Rs.2800 crore beauty service industry by re-branding itself as a total separate entity. In this direction, the company has announced to incorporate a new logo and a strategic tie-up with Doncaster College, UK for the provision of higher studies for students, informs Ashish Pandit, Divisional COO – Education, Indian Subcontinent, VLCC Group. Citing the reason behind the move, Pandit says, “We wanted to undertake a focused approach towards the education vertical as we are convinced that vocational education, especially in beauty, health and nutrition is evolving rapidly due to the huge demand emanating from the industry. Hence, Education is being managed as a separate entity”. The institute has forged alliances with City and Guilds of UK for Beauty Therapy and Hair Dressing for skills evaluation of the students, Schwarzkopf for Training in Hair Coloring for all students, in all Institutes across India, and Cengage Learning (US) for publishing and co branding of Beauty, Nutrition and Fitness books. The institute has 40 branches across India and conduct courses with duration varying from a week to eight months. Some popular courses the institute offers are Advance Diploma in Cosmetology, Diploma in Hair Dressing, Diploma in Beauty Culture, Art of Make Up and Professional Make Up. By 2009, the institute is planning to have 60 branches. Speaking on the expansion plan, Pandit says, “Majority of our institutes are owned by the VLCC Group. However, we are looking at phenomenal growth in future and believe that this can happen in association with key business partners spread across multiple states. Business partners form an integral and important part of our expansion plans and we look forward to their support and collaboration for sustained growth. This will help us achieve our objective of equipping technicians for careers in beauty and fitness industry. Recently, we launched two new institutes in East India – Siliguri and Guwahati.” For setting up an institute, basic space required is 1800-2000 sq. ft. The investment in the effort varies according to the size and potential of the city and can range from Rs 40 lakhs to much more. For choosing location, the institute prefers locations that have access to public transport with in walking distance.
