Nov 19 Reuters Indian skincare firm Mamaearth39;s parent Honasa Consumer wiped off nearly 35 billion rupees 414.7 million in market valuation in two sessions, after a secondquarter loss fanned demand concerns for the beauty products retailer.

The stock touched a record low of 242.35 rupees on Tuesday, and has fallen by about 30 over the last two days. Its market cap has declined to 86 billion rupees.

The sharp selloff was triggered after Honasa posted its first quarterly loss since listing in Nov. 2023 late on Thursday.

It joined a long list of Indian consumer firms such as Hindustan Unilever and Nestle India to report downbeat results this quarter as urban consumers cut spending in the face of high inflation.

A challenging demand scenario and weakerthanexpected performance has hurt the company, analysts at JM Financial said.

Analysts said that Honasa, which competes with larger rival Nykaa and private players such as Health Glow, was hurt by stiff competition in India39;s beauty and personal care industry, whose market size is likely to hit 28 billion by 2025 from 17.8 billion in 2020, per Avendus data.

The competition has forced the company, also known for its brands such as 39;The Derma Co39; and 39;Aqualogica,39; to rethink its business strategy, said Arvind Singhal, chairman of consultancy firm Technopak Advisors.

Honasa, which sells its products primarily through online platforms, had said in its postearnings call that it is planning to scale up its business…