2. The VLCC Group
Vision of “Transforming Lives”
• Mrs. Vandana Luthra is the founder of VLCC.
• India's best known wellness brand.
• Established in 1989, VLCC is currently present across over 260
locations in 120 cities and has operations in 9 countries -
Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, UAE, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait
and India.
• With her nationwide chain taking beauty and fitness to Indians as
few others, Mrs. Luthra was among the earliest in contemporary
India to realise the potential of the wellness sector.
3. The VLCC Group
Vision of “Transforming Lives”
• After a degree from Delhi University, Mrs. Luthra did courses
in nutrition, cosmetology, beauty care, fitness and skin care in
Germany, London and Paris.
• She made her entrepreneurial debut in 1989 by opening
India's first Transformation Center with weight management
programs with cutting-edge skin and hair treatments.
• Her VLCC basically aims at providing several services related
to beauty and body toning, which includes bleaches,
manicures, receding hairline solutions, hair removal,
permanent scar confiscation and several other beauty related
knick knacks and cosmetics.
4. The VLCC Group
Vision of “Transforming Lives”
Having served over a million customers since its inception, VLCC, today, has
achieved an iconic status across the world and is India’s largest and most
preferred Slimming, Beauty & Health brand.
VLCC Group serves as an umbrella for all its other brands’ VLCC Health Care
Ltd., VLCC Personal Care, VLCC Spa, VLCC Institute and The VLCC Foundation.
VLCC Personal Care leverages the group’s strong research capability to
manufacture over 100 solution-oriented skin-care, hair-care and body care
products retailed through a nation-wide distribution network of over 150
distributors and 10,000 retail outlets.
VLCC Spa offers various luxurious therapy options that are drawn from the
wisdom of ancient cultures (from traditional Balinese therapies to blissful
Thai massages) and is dedicated to the wellness of the mind, body and soul.
VLCC Institute of Beauty Health and Management is India’s first
comprehensive vocational training academy of its kind that offers
professional and vocational courses in health, nutrition and management.
Affiliated to the prestigious City & Guilds of UK, the Institute offers three
broad categories of diploma courses Health & Nutrition / Management.
6. Entrepreneurship
• ‘To my mind, entrepreneurship is about people,
their choices and actions in starting, taking over
or running a business, or their involvement in a
firm’s strategic decision-making
• Entrepreneurs are a heterogeneous group and
come from all walks of life. Yet there are certain
common characteristics of entrepreneurial
behavior, including a readiness to take risk and a
taste for independence and self-realization.
7. The Wall Street Journal(Interview)
• Vandana Luthra, a New Delhi-based entrepreneur,
says attitudes toward women in India haven’t
changed in the last decade. Most Indian men, still
prefer women to be homemakers.
• Ms. Luthra, who has two daughters, took the
plunge into business after marrying into a
relatively conservative Indian household. In 1989,
when her younger daughter was a toddler, she set
up a small health and beauty salon in her
neighborhood.
• This business has become VLCC Healthcare Ltd.,
with outlets in 16 countries.
8. The Wall Street Journal(Interview)
Q. What was the attitude toward women when you first started out
as an entrepreneur?
People actually looked down on women. They probably thought
women had no business being entrepreneurs. But people on the
whole felt, ‘Why should women work? They should be at home
cooking, cleaning, raising children.’
Q. What challenges did you face in your early days as an
entrepreneur?
My first challenge was obviously arranging funds. It took very long
to convince people, even banks. I didn’t want to start with my
father giving money and my husband giving me money. Then, every
day was a challenge. From a young bubbly teenager, to a wife, to a
mother, to a daughter-in-law, to being a good daughter, you’ve
always got to prove a point.
9. The Wall Street Journal(Interview)
Q. Is it tougher for women to set up a business in India? Or are
attitudes to women the same worldwide?
Definitely more women are working. But if you look at the
business class, men still want women staying at home and
raising their kids. They are not given enough opportunity to
work.
Q. What prevents Indian women from starting their own
business?
The ambition is there, the passion is there, but somewhere
they are restricted. I think it could be finance, because they
are not able to arrange that kind of money. Or they are scared
they are under lot of pressure because of family.
10. The Wall Street Journal(Interview)
Q. What should women do to break the barriers to success?
Women should never restrict themselves. They must be
grounded and level-headed. It is important to have a balance
between the head and the heart. If there is a balance between
the home and the workplace, there’s a balance in the head and
the heart. And an organization can’t be run completely with the
heart, or completely with the head.
Q. Is this a quality women have and perhaps men don’t?
Women have qualities that men would take a while to adapt to.
Men work from their head, while women work more from their
heart, and they have a balance. In business, that balance is
important.