Mumbai: Dabur India's retail operations now plan to include some beauty and health services as well. This is a direct effect of growing market demand for services such as those provided by their competitors such as Marico's Kaya Skin Clinics.

Under the company's H&B Stores brand, beauty related services would be offered on a similar concept.

The services would include services such as whitening and facials, along with the regular manicures and pedicures. Being a value for money brand, the company is not expected to charge a premium for its services, and customers can expect these to be affordable.

The non-premium pricing is also likely to have a bearing on the success of the venture, given that the company plans to market these services to customers in smaller cities.

The company plans to launch four to six stores over the year in Delhi and the NCR region, to be followed by its pan-India expansion of 40 stores in 2008-09. The stores would come in three sizes of 6,000 sq ft, 3,000 sq ft and 1,500 sq ft.

The retail endeavour has seen an investment of around Rs 140 crore. H&B Stores Ltd is a subsidiary of Dabur India, which expects to break even by 2010. The company is said to be estimating sales at between Rs 18,000 and Rs 20,000 per sq ft.