In the summer of 1953, 23-year-old Simone Dunoyer from Geneva arrived in India for a holiday. During her stay, she met Naval Hormusji Tata—26 years her senior and divorced from his first wife, Soonoo. The two fell in love, and in 1955, they got married. While this could have been a simple fairy tale ending, Simone had bigger aspirations. She would go on to become one of India’s most successful entrepreneurs.
Today, her son Noel Tata, half brother to Ratan Tata, stands poised to lead the Tata group of companies. As chairman of Tata Trusts, which controls the group’s entities through Tata Sons, Noel will play a pivotal role in steering the future of the 155-year-old conglomerate. His achievements with Trent Ltd—now among the top retailers in the country and a significant contributor to Tata’s $365 billion market capitalization—demonstrate his capability for the job.
Building Lakmé, shaping Trent
But Trent’s success traces back to Simone Tata’s pioneering efforts. Marriage into the illustrious Tata family did little to dim her ambition. With the support of the legendary J.R.D. Tata, she was appointed managing director of Lakmé in 1961. At the time, Lakmé was a minor subsidiary of Tata Oil Mills, originally set up in 1917 by Dorabji Tata. Though it gained some recognition for products like Hamam, Okay, and Moti soaps, it remained a low-margin business, overshadowed by the group’s focus on steel, automobiles, chemicals, and power.
Simone, however, had other plans. She identified a shift in the 1960s: a generation of post-independence Indian women seeking affordable beauty products. Over two decades, she transformed Lakmé into India’s largest cosmetics brand through a blend of hands-on management and strategic delegation. The brand edged out competitors like Cutex from Revlon, striking a chord with Indian women through vibrant hues like mithai pinks and maroons. She also launched a memorable ad campaign featuring model Shyamoli Verma, resonating with India’s emerging working women. Lakmé became not just aspirational but synonymous with trust and affordability.
By 1982, Simone Tata had become chairperson of Lakmé. Although she joined the Tata Industries board in 1989, her entrepreneurial journey was far from over. Recognizing the constraints of selling cosmetics in a price-sensitive market like India, Simone envisioned new opportunities. With liberalization in 1991 opening doors for global competition, she spearheaded Tata’s strategic pivot into retail—a space with greater promise.
In April 1993, TOMCO merged with Hindustan Lever Ltd (HLL). Three years later, Lakmé and HLL established a 50:50 joint venture, Lakmé Unilever Ltd. By 1998, the Tata group had sold its stake in the joint venture and divested Lakmé’s brand portfolio to HLL for ₹200 crore. Under HLL, Lakmé thrived, becoming a cornerstone of its product range and a lasting testament to the solid foundation built under Simone Tata.
The Tata Group reinvested the proceeds into launching Westside, a retail brand under Trent that would grow to become a well-known name in Indian households. Westside began operations in 1998 with the acquisition of Littlewoods’ store in Bengaluru, which was subsequently renamed. Though the brand had a slow start, it gained momentum after 2006, by which time Simone Tata had stepped down as Trent’s non-executive chairperson.
Read this | Trent could grow to 10 times its current size, Noel Tata says
Always spirited and unafraid to stand apart, Simone attracted attention in 2022 as the only Tata family member to attend Cyrus Mistry’s funeral. The Tatas and Mistrys had fallen out following Cyrus’s controversial ouster as Tata Group chairman in 2016, leading to a high-profile legal battle. Simone’s presence at the funeral raised eyebrows, hinting at her unique sense of propriety. Her relationship with her stepson, Ratan Tata, has often been described as distant, though neither ever gave public evidence of discord.
Also read | Chairing Tata: How RNT set the leadership benchmark for his successors
In her later years, Simone found joy in baking for her grandchildren, becoming known for her chocolate cake and brownies. She also continues to host intimate dinners, serving only Tata Tetley tea—a subtle nod to her lifelong connection with the Tata legacy. Simone is known for her humor, often self-deprecating, and her unassuming charm that contrasts with her elegant grace. Above all, she remains a role model for aspiring entrepreneurs, embodying the spirit of enterprise and resilience.
