Madora found home in Kenya in 2015 at the Westgate mall, targeting the growing interest of locals in high-end products from top designers.
French brands Dior, Chanel, Black Up and Givenchy, as well as American Tom Ford, just to name a few of the over 50 brands that have found space on the shelves of the high end store.
The store welcomes you with some upbeat music and inviting makeup booths that are complete with stands that call out for one to get a makeover.
Walking into Madora Westgate Mall gives an almost déjà vu feeling as the store is near-identical to its Hub Branch.
The main store colour is black with the brand name in hot pink—a concept which Kamlesh Nuckchady, Madora Kenya general manager, states is similar across the 25 stores in the four countries where Madora is present.
The store welcomes you with some upbeat music and inviting makeup booths that are complete with stands that call out for one to get a makeover.
As part of the experience, clients sit at the makeup stations and receive free advice on how to use the different products, ranging from foundation, primers, blush, bronzer, lip liner and lipstick for newbies and even experienced users.
In the makeup segment, Nuckchady say foundation is the most popular buy across the brands.
“The top seller is foundation then the lipstick and eyeliner, just products on how to enhance their beauty,” he says.
“People are also more conscious of skin care and are looking at products that help look after their skin,” he adds.
The staff at the stores are constantly sent for training, with design houses sending in their makeup artists to add to the training and customer experience.
“our artists are able to give customer guidance on how to use products, tell them what works for their skin type, depending on whether one has silly, combination or dry skin,” he explains.
The French outlet found a home in Kenya in 2015 at the Westgate mall, targeting the growing interest of locals in beauty and fragrance products from French designers.
French brands Dior, Chanel, Black Up and Givenchy, as well as American Tom Ford, just to name a few of the over 50 brands that have found space on the shelves of the high end store.
“From the experience we have had over the past 30 years, we know what products people want and we have been developing partnerships with the brands themselves and present the brand to the customer,” says Nuckchady.
The Internet penetration and travel habits of Kenyans have exposed them to high end brands, which Nuckchady states, means that there is demand for the latest and trendiest products to be available in Kenya.
“Our customers are aware of all the novelty and new lines and expect them here. These new products were not physically available in the country stores and we saw the need and that is why we came in,” he explains.
In March, French fragrance Mon Guerlain was launched in Kenya barely a few days after its global debut. The brand was for two months exclusively available at Madora, adding to the high end appeal of the brand.
Previously, local consumers were highly reliant on travel to get the designer cosmetics, especially by the top tier French Houses like Dior and Chanel, or would send travelling colleagues, family and friends.
“They can still do that or buy off sites like Amazon, but we offer them the experience of interacting with the products here to see if they like it before they purchase,” said Nuckchady.
Shoppers also have the option of calling in for the products that they need, which are then delivered to their doorstep.
Madora has outlets at the Hub, Two Rivers and Westgate, with plans for an outlet at Village Market at the end of the year as well as an online shopping platform.
