KIKO Milano Plans Rapid India Expansion With Reliance Partnership

Italian beauty brand KIKO Milano is stepping up its India expansion with a new flagship store in Mumbai, strengthening its partnership with Reliance Retail as it targets a much larger share of the country’s fast-growing beauty and personal care market. The company sees India as one of its fastest-growing markets and expects the country to eventually rank among its top three to five markets globally.

KIKO Milano entered a deeper partnership with Reliance Retail in 2024 after Reliance acquired the Italian brand’s India business. Since then, the beauty company has been expanding its physical presence while using Reliance’s Tira beauty platform to build an omnichannel distribution network. KIKO currently has a growing network of exclusive stores in India and plans to significantly increase that footprint by the end of 2026.

KIKO Milano Opens New Mumbai Flagship

The Mumbai expansion gives KIKO Milano a stronger physical presence in one of India’s most important beauty and luxury retail markets.

Mumbai is strategically important because of its concentration of affluent consumers, premium shopping destinations and international beauty brands. A flagship store allows KIKO to showcase a wider product range while creating a more immersive brand experience than a conventional online listing or multi-brand retail counter.

KIKO’s Mumbai presence includes its store at Phoenix Marketcity, where the brand offers makeup and skincare products. The company’s India store network has been expanding across major cities as it seeks to increase brand awareness among Indian consumers.

KIKO Milano’s India expansion

Metric	Latest position
India partnership	Reliance Retail
Exclusive brand outlets	10 currently reported
Target by end-2026	19
Tira and retail presence	19 locations
Global stores	1,400+ including franchises
India’s current global ranking	Outside top 10
Long-term target	Top 3–5 markets
Core category	Makeup

The exact store count has been evolving rapidly as new outlets open. KIKO’s management said it expects to reach 19 exclusive brand outlets in India by the end of 2026.

India Could Become a Top Five Market

KIKO Milano Global CEO Simone Dominici said India is expected to become one of the company’s top 10 markets soon and could reach the top three to five markets within five years.

The ambition is significant because India is currently outside KIKO’s top 10 markets globally.

However, the company’s India business is growing faster than its overall global business, making the country increasingly important to its international expansion strategy.

KIKO’s India ambition

Short term: Enter the global top 10 markets

Medium term: Reach the top three to five markets

Store strategy: Rapidly expand exclusive outlets

Digital strategy: Scale through Tira and online channels

Product strategy: Combine global products with India-specific launches

This suggests KIKO sees India not simply as another international market but as a potential long-term growth engine.

Reliance Retail Provides a Major Distribution Advantage

The partnership with Reliance Retail gives KIKO access to an established Indian retail and digital ecosystem.

Reliance operates across several consumption categories and has built a large omnichannel network. Its beauty platform, Tira, provides KIKO with an additional channel for reaching customers without requiring the brand to build an entirely independent digital infrastructure.

Tira has also been used by Reliance to introduce international beauty brands to Indian consumers.

The platform combines online shopping with physical stores and premium beauty experiences, creating an environment in which KIKO can position itself between mass-market cosmetics and luxury beauty.

For KIKO, this can accelerate customer acquisition while reducing some of the barriers associated with entering a large and geographically diverse market.

Online Sales Already Account for More Than 40%

KIKO’s India strategy is not dependent entirely on physical stores.

The company’s online sales currently contribute more than 40% of its India business, significantly above its global average, according to management.

That makes the Tira relationship particularly important.

Consumers can discover products online, purchase them digitally and increasingly interact with the brand through physical stores. The model gives KIKO multiple points of contact with customers rather than forcing the company to rely solely on shopping malls and high-street locations.

KIKO’s omnichannel model

Physical stores → Brand discovery and product trials

Tira → Digital reach and online transactions

India-specific products → Local relevance

Global portfolio → Brand consistency

Reliance ecosystem → Distribution and scale

The combination is particularly relevant in cosmetics, where customers often want to test shades, textures and finishes before purchasing.

Makeup Remains KIKO’s Core Business

Makeup continues to dominate KIKO Milano’s global business, accounting for approximately 80% of sales.

Skincare contributes around 11%, while the company also operates in fragrance and haircare.

This mix fits India’s rapidly expanding beauty market, where makeup and skincare are attracting increasingly younger consumers.

KIKO’s positioning is also distinctive. It offers products at prices below many traditional luxury beauty brands while maintaining an international and premium image.

The company’s average product price in India is around ₹1,430, putting it between mass-market cosmetics and high-end luxury beauty products.

KIKO Is Localising Products for Indian Consumers

While the majority of KIKO’s product portfolio remains global, the company is beginning to introduce products specifically designed for the Indian market.

Its India-focused Diwali collection includes nine products across 16 stock-keeping units.

The company also plans to develop more shades and undertones suited to Indian consumers.

This is an important shift for international beauty companies entering India.

Indian consumers have diverse skin tones and preferences, meaning global product ranges do not always provide sufficient shade depth or local relevance.

Global versus local strategy

Area	KIKO approach
Core portfolio	Global
India-specific launches	Increasing
Diwali collection	16 SKUs
Shade strategy	More Indian undertones
Manufacturing	Primarily Europe
Italy’s manufacturing share	About 75%

KIKO currently manufactures its products entirely in Europe, with around 75% of production in Italy. The company has not announced an immediate shift toward local manufacturing in India.

India’s Beauty Market Is Expanding Rapidly

KIKO’s expansion comes as India’s beauty and personal care industry enters a period of strong growth.

The Indian BPC market is projected to increase from around $23 billion to approximately $40 billion by 2030, representing annual growth of around 12%, according to industry estimates cited by Financial Express.

Several factors are supporting this growth.

Rising disposable incomes, greater beauty awareness, social media-driven trends, premiumisation and the expansion of organised retail are encouraging consumers to spend more on cosmetics and personal care products.

The growth of quick commerce and beauty-focused digital platforms is also making international brands easier to access.

International Beauty Brands Are Increasing Their India Bets

KIKO is entering an increasingly competitive market.

Global beauty companies are expanding their Indian operations as consumers move toward premium products and international brands.

Reliance itself has been building Tira into a major beauty platform, bringing brands such as Fenty Beauty and other international names to India. Its luxury Tira flagship at Jio World Plaza in Mumbai also includes dedicated spaces for multiple global beauty brands.

This creates both an opportunity and a challenge for KIKO.

The opportunity is that India’s beauty market is expanding quickly. The challenge is that consumers now have far more choices.

Physical Stores Remain Important

Despite the growth of online beauty sales, KIKO is continuing to invest heavily in physical stores.

The reason is straightforward: beauty is an experiential category.

Customers often want to test foundation shades, lipstick colours, mascara formulations and skincare products before purchasing.

Stores can also strengthen brand loyalty by creating a more premium environment.

KIKO’s management views store openings as more than distribution points. Globally, the company invests more than 10% of sales in marketing, and store openings are considered part of that marketing strategy.

This means the Mumbai flagship can serve both a sales function and a brand-building purpose.

Reliance Can Help KIKO Scale Beyond Mumbai

The partnership gives KIKO the ability to expand beyond India’s traditional luxury centres.

The brand has already been adding stores in cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Lucknow, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kochi and Ahmedabad. Recent launches demonstrate that the company is increasingly looking beyond just a handful of major metropolitan markets.

This wider geographic strategy could become important as premium beauty consumption spreads into India’s emerging affluent cities.

Reliance’s existing retail infrastructure provides KIKO with an advantage in identifying locations, operating stores and integrating physical and digital sales.

The Bigger Picture

KIKO Milano’s Mumbai flagship is part of a much larger bet on India’s beauty consumption story. The company is moving quickly from being a relatively new international entrant to building a significant physical and digital footprint, supported by Reliance Retail’s distribution capabilities and Tira’s omnichannel platform.

The company’s ambition to become one of India’s top three to five global markets within five years demonstrates how strategically important the country has become. With makeup accounting for about 80% of KIKO’s sales, India’s young and increasingly premium beauty consumer base offers substantial room for growth.

The bigger challenge will be maintaining that growth as competition increases. KIKO will need to balance its European brand identity with local preferences, expand its shade range and maintain an attractive price position while continuing to invest in stores and digital channels.

Looking Ahead

KIKO’s immediate focus will be on rapidly increasing its store network while strengthening its presence on Tira. Reaching 19 exclusive brand outlets by the end of 2026 would represent a major expansion from its current footprint and give the company greater visibility across India’s premium beauty market.

Over the longer term, India could become one of KIKO Milano’s most important markets globally if the company can convert its rapid store growth into sustained customer loyalty. More India-specific products, deeper localisation and an integrated online-offline experience will likely determine whether the brand can turn its current momentum into a top-five global market position.