Lakme Lever, a division of Hindustan Lever Ltd, will open 150 beauty salons next year to consolidate its position in the Rs 1,000 crore (Rs 10 billion) salon market.

The company would also open a Lakme Training Academy to provide people with skills required in the beauty business, Anil Chopra, business head, Lakme Lever, said during the ongoing Lakme India Fashion Week.

"We will open 150 beauty salons next year to further increase our market share in both categories (cosmetics and skin care). We will open 30-40 salons this year itself," he said.

The company, which has 50 per cent share in cosmetics market and 22 per cent in skin care, aims to have a larger pie of the Rs 1,000 crore salon industry, which is growing at 20 per cent.

With 150 salons proposed to be opened in 2005, the company would also enter relatively small towns, Chopra said, adding: "Our idea is to reach out to smaller towns but at the same time, new salons will also be started in metros like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai.