SSIZ International Director Rayed Merchant discusses building India’s largest professional beauty distribution network, balancing global and homegrown brands, capitalising on premiumisation, and the company’s next phase of growth
Over the past two decades, SSIZ International has evolved from a distribution-led business into one of India’s largest professional beauty companies, serving thousands of salons through an extensive nationwide network. With a portfolio spanning flagship homegrown brand Ikonic Professional alongside global names such as Cadiveu, Denman and JRL, the company is now expanding into new product categories, digital commerce and manufacturing.
In an interaction with BW Retail World, Rayed Merchant, Director, SSIZ International, shares the company’s growth journey, emerging beauty trends, investments in technology and education, and his roadmap for the next phase of expansion.
SSIZ International has grown into one of India’s largest professional beauty distribution companies. What have been the key milestones behind this growth, and how has your business model evolved?
Our growth has happened in layers rather than through one defining moment. The first and most important layer was building a robust distribution model because we believe the supply chain is the backbone of any distribution business.
Today, we work with nearly 300 sub-distributors across India and have a field force of around 500 professionals. Building that scale has taken more than two decades of investing in relationships with salons, resellers and, more recently, e-commerce partners. We expanded one market at a time, ensuring every region was well established before moving to the next.
The second layer was strengthening our portfolio. We never wanted to become a single-brand company—we wanted to become a house of brands. Ikonic Professional remains our flagship salon brand with around 70 per cent market share in professional styling tools. Alongside it, we’ve built Ikonic Me for consumers and partnered with international brands such as Cadiveu, Denman and JRL, while also developing private labels like Biosoft and Proarte.
Our business model has also evolved significantly. Ten years ago, distribution was largely a push-based business driven by field sales. Today, salon professionals are far more informed, brand conscious and heavily influenced by social media. As a result, we’ve transformed from being primarily a supply chain company into a business focused equally on brand building and education.
Your portfolio combines homegrown brands with international labels. How do you maintain that balance?
It’s less about designing a portfolio and more about maintaining a careful balance.
Homegrown brands such as Ikonic give us complete control over the value chain—from research and development to pricing, packaging and innovation. More importantly, they allow us to respond much faster to Indian consumer needs than international brands can.
We’re now expanding Ikonic beyond styling tools into hair care, styling products and men’s grooming, which represents a significant opportunity for us.
International brands serve a different purpose. Brands like Cadiveu, Denman and JRL bring global credibility, technological leadership and specialised expertise to the Indian market.
Cadiveu is present in over 100 countries, Denman carries nearly a century of heritage, while JRL has rapidly become one of the world’s leading clipper and trimmer brands. Our objective has always been to bring together the best global and Indian offerings without allowing either side to overshadow the other.
India’s professional beauty market is being reshaped by premiumisation, digital commerce and changing consumer behaviour. What trends stand out, and how is SSIZ responding?
Premiumisation is undoubtedly one of the biggest trends.
Both salon professionals and consumers are moving towards higher-quality products, sophisticated formulations, better ingredients and premium packaging. The first visual impression has become extremely important because consumers today increasingly associate premium design with product quality.
Digital commerce has also fundamentally changed buying behaviour. Quick commerce, in particular, has compressed the buying cycle from “I need it” to “it’s at my doorstep.”
We’re present across major online platforms including Amazon, Nykaa, Tira, Blinkit and Zepto. What’s interesting is that these channels aren’t just serving consumers anymore—many salons are also placing real-time replenishment orders through them. We now see quick commerce as an additional distribution channel rather than simply a consumer sales platform.
Another significant shift is generational. Today’s salon professionals largely belong to Generation Z, and they think differently. Identity, aesthetics and design matter as much as product functionality. That’s why we’ve invested heavily in product design, colour palettes, branding and distinct product extensions tailored to different customer segments.
At the same time, education continues to remain central to our strategy because professional products are only as successful as the expertise behind their use.
Beyond expanding your distribution footprint, what investments are you making in technology, education and after-sales support?
For us, reach without depth is just a number.
We’ve therefore invested heavily in education. Through initiatives such as Global Salon Educators, we regularly bring internationally renowned experts to India to conduct workshops for salon owners and professionals.
Recently, we hosted salon business expert Gary from South Africa, allowing our salon partners to learn global best practices in business management. We believe adding value through knowledge creates much stronger customer relationships than competing only on pricing or discounts.
Technology has become equally important. We’ve invested significantly in ERP systems, CRM platforms, customised mobile applications and digital workflows that enable our sales teams to place orders, resolve complaints and provide after-sales support more efficiently.
Our objective is to create a seamless customer experience where technology strengthens trust just as much as product quality does.
At the product level, innovation never stops. We continuously invest in identifying future trends and developing products that stay ahead of market demand.
What does the next phase of growth look like for SSIZ International?
The next phase is about achieving greater depth and greater control while continuing to scale.
On the product side, we’re expanding Ikonic into hair care, styling products and men’s grooming, creating a complete ecosystem that complements our existing styling tools business. Men’s grooming, in particular, is among the fastest-growing segments in the market today.
Manufacturing is another major priority. Following India’s BIS regulations for electronic products, we’ve strengthened our domestic assembly capabilities significantly over the past 18 months. Since finished electronic products can no longer simply be imported, we’ve invested heavily in local manufacturing infrastructure, and that will remain a strategic focus.
Acquisitions and exclusive global partnerships will continue to be part of our growth strategy whenever they add capabilities that we don’t currently possess in-house.
International expansion is certainly on our roadmap as well. We’re already receiving strong interest from overseas markets, driven by the growing global influence of India’s salon, bridal and beauty industries. We’ve started establishing supply chain capabilities for nearby international markets.
However, India remains our immediate priority. We still see tremendous headroom for growth domestically, and our focus is on deepening our leadership here before expanding more aggressively overseas.
Looking back, what has been the single biggest contributor to SSIZ International’s success?
Without doubt, it’s our distribution network and supply chain.
The strength of our business lies in our nationwide network of partners, the availability of our brands and our continued investment in education.
If there’s one lesson I’d share with young entrepreneurs, it’s this: practice is irreplaceable.
The more people continue learning, practising and improving their craft, the greater their chances of building a lasting legacy. That’s the philosophy we’ve followed throughout our journey.
