New Delhi: Simone Tata, the former chairperson of Lakmé who played a pivotal role in making it one of India's most successful cosmetic brands and later steered the Tata Group into contemporary fashion retail with Westside, died on Friday (December 5) at the age of 95 at Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai after a brief illness.

“Ms. Simone will always be remembered for her contribution to the growth of Lakmé as India’s leading cosmetic brand and laying the foundation for fashion retail with the Westside chain. She also guided the work of many philanthropic organisations including Sir Ratan Tata Institute. With her positivity and deep resolve she overcame many challenges in her life while touching many of us deeply," Tata Sons said in a statement.

The company announced that her last respects will be on Saturday (December 6) from 9 am to 10.30 am at Cathedral of the Holy Name Church, Colaba followed by a mass at 11.00 am.

Simone Tata, born in Geneva in 1930, was the second wife of Naval Tata and her only son Noel Tata is the chairman of Tata Trusts and three Tata Group companies. She was last seen in October 2024 at the funeral of her stepson and former Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata.

Simone Tata played a central role in shaping Lakmé, the cosmetics brand created by the Tata Group, and later established Trent Limited, which built the Westside retail chain in 1998. Lakmé was launched in 1952 by Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata after Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru urged the establishment to start a homegrown cosmetics label in order to provide Indian women with a domestic alternative since imported makeup was expensive and a strain on the country's foreign currency reserves.

After joining Lakmé’s board in early 1960s, when it was operating as a subsidary unit under Tata Oil Mills, Simone Tata became instrumental in defining the brand. At a time when many viewed makeup with scepticism, she recognised that Lakmé needed to shift public perception. She strategised bold promotional efforts when advertising in India was still developing, presenting Lakmé as both aspirational and a mass market cosmetic brand by focusing on its pricing, and developing products suited to Indian complexions.

She was appointed as Lakmé's chairperson in 1982, and during her leadership, Lakmé became a leading name in the country’s beauty market and broke taboos around applying makeup. In the mid-1990s, however, the arrival of major global players like L’Oréal and Revlon created new challenges. To enhance Lakmé’s technical capabilities and reach, she forged a 50:50 partnership with Hindustan Unilever (HUL) in 1996, aimed at reducing high import costs, gaining international know-how, and leveraging HUL’s extensive distribution and vast and varied experience in the FMCG sector.

By 1998, the Tata Group withdrew from the joint venture and sold its stake for Rs 200 crore. Simone Tata redirected the funds to purchase Littlewoods International’s only store in Bengaluru and merged it with Lakmé’s export division to form Tata Retail Enterprise. This entity later became Trent, which launched Westside, one of India's first and most prominent department-store format fashion retail brand. She continued as Trent’s non-executive chairperson until 2006, overseeing its early expansion. The company, now led by her son Noel Tata, has since diversified into multiple brands such as Zudio, Misbu and Star Bazaar with over 200 stores across the country.

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