DR. REKHA CHAUDHARI BRINGS TOGETHER INDUSTRY STAKEHOLDERS TO RESTART BUSINESS OPERATIONS IN MAHARASHTRA

On the 9^th June, 2020, Dr. Rekha Chaudhari, MD Oneline Wellness & Global Wellness Ambassador (India) organized a panel discussion between the Industry Leaders, Associations, Training Institutes, Importers with the Former Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Mr. Devendra Fadnavis.

 Mr. Vikram Bhatt (Founder - Enrich), Mr. Kapil Sharma (Founder – Kapil’s Salon), Ms. Spoorthy Shetty (CEO - BBlunt), Mr. Samir Srivastava (CEO - JCB Spa & Salon), Mr. Savio John Pereira (Celebrity Hair Stylist), Representatives from Barber’s Association, Salon Association, Exhibitors, Beauty & Wellness industry Importers had joined the discussion.

The country has been hit with the pandemic & people in Maharashtra have observed lockdown for over 90 days now.

The situations in the other states across the country have been relaxed as the lockdown has been lifted along with some necessary restrictions.

Issues like unemployment of people, especially women, people associated with the industry on the verge of suicide because of lack of employment, heavy charges are being levied at ports by port authorities, mental state of people in general were raised in the meeting.

 The meeting was moderated by Dr. Rekha Chaudhari. Meeting was initiated by thanking Mr. Devendra Fadnavis for removing his valuable time and agreeing to meet. The entire panel was introduced. She mentioned about the salon industry being removed from the prohibited list leading to the industry being opened up in various states in India. Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) & Guidelines have been made by the industry players & have been strictly followed all across. She reinforced that all stakeholders are responsible & are professionally adhering to the guidelines established. She requested his support for restarting the operations of Salons in Maharashtra. She made special request on behalf of the Barber’s Association, ensuring that safety & hygiene standards will be followed by them as well.

Mr. Vikram Bhatt, raised that the industry has been without any income since the past 90 days. Central Government has given permission to run business out of Maharashtra. He requested for the industry to be removed from the restricted list in Maharastra as well and ensured that the safety norms will be followed.

Mr. Kapil Sharma spoke about a training document which has been created based on the WHO guidelines. Daily trainings have been conducted on Safety & Hygiene topics across the country for lakhs of people. The norms & standards will be followed right from a barber to a chain outlet to ensure the most important thing is the safety of the customer.

Ms. Spoorthy Shetty spoke about the importance of opening up the industry for the simple reason that everyday 10-15 salons are folding their operations leading to unemployment which will further lead to reverse migrations. This industry has 70 Lacs workforce of which 60% are women. She also raised issues like working capital, liquidity crunch & there the issues need to be resolved quickly.

Mr. Samir Srivastava highlighted how customers are themselves providing testimonials about the safety measures followed across salons outside Maharashtra.

Mr. Nitin Kalwani spoke about his brand presence in India as well as Dubai. He mentioned about the safety & hygiene SOPs created by the industry in India are more strict than the ones made in European countries.

Mr. Yogesh Mudra spoke about B2B exhibitions in the beauty & wellness segment. How strong SOPs can be followed & ensure safety for the people who attend them can be controlled. Mumbai being the commercial capital of India, supports lacs of people who are employed in this industry.

Mr. Chandrashekhar Jagtap spoke about how because of lack of income two barbers have committed suicide and the situation doesn’t seem to improve.

Ms. Divya Kohli spoke about detention charged being levied despite of the laws passed by the Minitry of Shipping & the government leading to huge financial losses which are not in control.

Dr. Rekha Chaudhari mentioned how Mr. Devendra Fadnavis believes in the wellness industry & requested his support to help restart this industry in the state of Maharashtra.

Other points in discussion were:

1. To provide permission to start salon training institutes as they provide education of lacs of students & employment to thousands, this close will lead to a lot of loss.
2. To ensure hygiene standards will be followed all across was reiterated by everyone present on the panel
3. Relaxation on rent which is one of the major issue
4. Government to support the barbers with safety kits

Mr. Devendra Fadnavis appreciated that the meeting has a good representation of various stakeholders from the beauty & wellness industry. He acknowledged mentioned that it has been a growing industry since the past 10 years, which has matured well & has provided huge employment opportunities.

He highlighted that the time of the lockdown was for preparation as we as a country were unaware of social distancing & quarantine. He mentioned that considering all parameters starting any industry were new so that people do not get affected by corona virus. He also appreciated how protocols created by the industry have been followed thoroughly across the nation. He reinforced how this industry gives aspiration to lower & lower middle class people & not restarting salon operations can lead to a lot of failure on that front. He assured that he will take the matter up with Chief Secretary & Chief Minster as soon as he can.

Dr. Rekha Chaudhari is the Managing Director of Oneline Wellness Pvt. Ltd. Oneline Wellness has been the pioneer and leader in the Indian professional beauty industry. Based in Mumbai, Oneline Wellness manages launch, distribution and marketing of brands like Remy Laure, Phytomer, B.LAB, Golmar in India exclusively premium salons, spas and skin clinics. Oneline Wellness is a recognized leader in professional beauty education, skill development and certification. Through its national distribution network and technology initiatives, Oneline Wellness, brings the best of European skin care to the Indian consumer.