Simone Tata, who passed away in Mumbai at 95 after a brief illness, was many things: An entrepreneur ahead of her time, a builder of institutions and the quiet force who introduced Indian women to the idea of everyday beauty. Her influence was subtle but sweeping—shaping habits, defining aspirations and transforming the consumer landscape long before the term “lifestyle” entered business vocabulary. She established Lakme when the category was unknown.
Born in Geneva and married into the Tata family in the mid-1950s, Simone adapted to India with unparalleled poise. But her true assimilation came not through society or philanthropy, but by stepping into the world of Indian business then dominated by Marwari business houses. In 1961, she joined the board of the fledgling cosmetics company Lakme, an entity created simply because Indian women had no access to good-quality beauty products in the 1950s. The building of Lakme was coincidentally also a period that would later see her son, Noel Tata—now the chairman of Tata Trusts—grow into a central figure in the group’s leadership continuum.
Lakme, under Simone Tata, was a masterclass in category creation. She nurtured it from a modest Tata subsidiary into the country’s first truly national beauty brand—one that shaped the market through trust, accessible glamour and a deep understanding of Indian women’s needs. By the time the Tatas exited the sector in 1996, selling Lakme to Hindustan Unilever, the company had grown into a valued business of several hundred crore rupees—a scale unthinkable when it began. The sale remains one of the most debated exits in Indian corporate history, but it also affirmed the strength of the brand Simone built.
Her second act was equally transformative. Sensing the shifts in Indian consumption in the mid-1990s, she turned her attention to retail—still disorganised and largely unbranded. Simone became the driving force behind Trent, created from the proceeds of the Lakme sale. Westside, Trent’s flagship brand, reflected her taste for clean design, affordability and quiet consistency. The chain grew steadily, avoiding the frenzy that marked India’s first retail boom, and instead built a reputation for reliability and relevance across city tiers. It later lost out to upstarts Big Bazaar, DMart and Reliance Retail before regaining some focus through its fast fashion Zudio stores.
Today, Trent stands as one of India’s most admired retail businesses, its success shaped by Simone’s disciplined approach: Build slowly, protect margins, understand the customer intuitively and never compromise on aesthetics. It is a legacy that Noel Tata continues to steward with calm authority—a leadership style inherited as much from her sensibility as from the Tata ethos.
Despite her achievements, Simone remained firmly out of the spotlight. She avoided the celebratory arc of business fame, preferring the rigour of boardrooms and the quiet satisfaction of well-executed work. In the 1990s, she could often be seen driving her Tata Indica near her home in Colaba. Many who worked with her recall her clarity, her dislike for shortcuts and her ability to marry design sensibility with business logic—long before such combinations were fashionable.
Her story is remarkable because she built institutions that outlasted her, brands that carried her signature long after she stepped aside. Simone didn’t just give India a cosmetics company or a retail chain. She shaped consumer behaviour, built trust where none existed, and left behind businesses that remain benchmarks in their sectors.
In her passing, corporate India loses yet another pioneer—one whose impact was lasting.
First Published: Dec 05, 2025, 17:50
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