UK-based online hair and beauty products firm Medigah London Hair has launched operations in Kenya as a springboard for expansion into the rest of East Africa.
The luxury hair vendor, which sells high-end virgin and raw hair extensions, bundles and wigs that are custom-made in London, has further unveiled a mobile application tailor-made for the local market and available on both Android and IOS PlayStore.
The firm, led by Kenyan-born executive director Barbara Midega, is priding itself as the first dealer to introduce knotless lace frontals in the country.
She says the firm’s primary aim in entering Kenya is to contribute to the growth of the local salon industry.
“The online application’s special feature is that it will have a community of other salons on it, which will enable subscribers to find their nearby salons and book services from the platform,” said Ms Midega.
According to the firm, the app will allow subscribers to get products at discounted prices. A spot check on the seller’s website shows that the prices of hair wigs range between $300 (Sh43,530) and $652 (Sh94,605) while those of hair lace cleaners and sprays are between $16 (Sh2,321) and $22 (Sh3,192).
Existing global market vendors in Kenya include Amka Products, Johnson and Johnson, L’Oreal SA, Revlon, Estee Lauder, Procter and Gamble Co and Unilever PLC, intensifying competition for local players.
Beauty products business in the country has been on a steady rise in recent years, with e-commerce platform Jumia reporting in June that the category topped its list of most ordered items among its rural customers, standing at 16 percent of all rural deliveries, ahead of phones and home items such as furniture which stood at 11 percent each.
