Founder Nilesh Kothari says Billu Salon is focused on making at-home grooming more accessible, with 30–45-minute service delivery, in-house trained staff and expansion into major Indian metros on the roadmap
At-home grooming is increasingly becoming a convenience-led category as consumers look for faster services, competitive pricing and greater flexibility. Billu Salon is positioning itself around this shift, particularly in the men’s grooming segment, by combining at-home services with an app-led salon ecosystem.
In an interview with BW Retail World, Nilesh Kothari, Founder, Billu Salon, discusses the gap the brand identified, its service model, customer preferences, technology-led approach and expansion plans.
What gap or opportunity did you identify in the salon and grooming market that led you to build Billu Salon? How has the vision evolved since its inception?
If you look at Sundays, most salons are full and people have to wait, particularly in the male grooming category. During the morning hours, it can be difficult to get an appointment without waiting.
Saturday and Sunday are also when people generally have more personal and family time. That made us think that people should not have to wait to get grooming services. The service should be available to them at their convenience.
While implementing this, we realised that we could not have a high price point, particularly for the male segment. Men generally do not prefer paying Rs 500, Rs 600 or Rs 700 for a haircut. They usually want it within the Rs 200–Rs 300 range.
That is how we started, with the idea of providing grooming services at home at an affordable price.
What has been your larger vision for Billu Salon?
The vision is very simple. I want to be the Zomato of this industry.
On our app, we not only provide at-home services but also give salons an opportunity to list themselves on the platform. They can manage their entire salon through our app.
Salons get visibility, dynamic pricing, offers, an integrated payment gateway and other features. So, the complete ecosystem is available within the Billu Salon app for salons as well.
What differentiates Billu Salon in an increasingly competitive and fragmented beauty and grooming market?
The first thing is speed. We are available within 30 to 45 minutes for most of our services. Other brands may specifically provide quick services such as massages within 45 minutes, but with Billu, we are providing almost all services within 30 to 45 minutes.
We have our own staff who are on our payroll. We have a large pool of staff who are regularly trained at our training centres and are then available to serve customers.
This allows us to focus on quality. At the moment, we are focusing on both quality and quantity.
Because we have our own staff, there is not the same pressure to rush through appointments. A freelancer may focus on earning more and, if they receive another appointment, they could potentially compromise on the previous appointment.
With Billu, this is not going to happen because our staff do not have to focus on the commercial aspect of each appointment. They can focus on delivering quality to the end customer.
That is one of the key ways we differentiate ourselves, and our customer base is increasing day by day.
How are changing consumer preferences, particularly among younger consumers, influencing your offerings?
The younger generation wants to have quality time. They do not want to spend 30 minutes, 45 minutes or even an hour simply waiting or travelling to and from a salon.
That is why we are getting a lot of customers, particularly between the ages of 18 and 50. They are our primary customers, and this customer base is increasing significantly.
When it comes to their choices, they are ready to spend money, particularly in the male segment. Even if we charge Rs 10 or Rs 20 extra, they are comfortable with that.
Women are also spending a lot on beauty and grooming, and that spending is increasing. At the same time, they are looking for platforms that provide better pricing, better products and an overall better experience.
How important is pricing in your business model?
Pricing matters a lot. We keep our pricing very competitive. It is not highly priced, but it is also not the lowest pricing. I would call it fair pricing.
We are completely focused on fair pricing.
What is Billu Salon’s growth strategy over the next three to five years? Are you looking at expanding through your own outlets, introducing new formats or entering new markets?
Right now, we are operating in Delhi NCR, and we are very close to reaching break-even.
As soon as we reach break-even, we will look at expanding into metro cities across India. These include Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune, Ahmedabad, Surat and Raipur.
That is where we are planning to expand.
Are you also planning to expand your service portfolio?
Yes. We are going to introduce a couple of new services that are currently not available at home through any platform. We are planning to introduce these very soon, by October itself.
As a founder, what are your key business priorities right now — talent, technology, service quality or profitability?
We are focusing on quality. That is the first thing.
We train our stylists regularly. Every two months, we conduct training sessions for them. We also have an internal matrix where we assign points for each service.
Every two months, we review their performance and identify areas where they may have fewer skills or require reskilling. This is an ongoing programme within our organisation.
So, the first thing is quality. That is what we are focusing on.
The second is quantity. We are increasing our customer base, and that is how we are looking at growth.
We want to maintain the same pricing. We do not want to increase our service prices. Instead, we want to increase the number of customers we serve.
So, increasing our customer base is our focus at the moment. When it comes to technology, we are already very well established on that side, and it is an ongoing programme.
I cannot say that I am separately focusing on technology because without technology, I cannot build this entire platform in the first place. Technology will always be an ongoing focus. The primary focus is always on quality and customer acquisition.
How do you see Billu Salon’s position in the at-home grooming market, particularly in the men’s segment?
We are specifically catering to men, and there are not many brands offering at-home services specifically for men in this way.
In the quick-commerce category, Urban Company provides haircut and beard services, but they charge around Rs 500 or more, and they do not provide the service within 30 to 45 minutes.
We are providing the service within that timeframe.
For us, the combination of speed, fair pricing and quality is important. We want customers to be able to access grooming services when they need them, without having to wait or travel to a salon.
