POSH: can the lady captain shine and rise? Yin Kuan Ng, Ka Fei Lai, Chee Yang Fong, Thiam Yong Kuek, Peter Sin Howe Tan and Nurliyana Maludin P ersonal grooming becomes a necessity in daily life. It is an art to bring out one’s attractive personality. A well-groomed person will leave good impressions on others. In contrast, individual who is poorly groomed reflects the individual’s laziness, carelessness, disillusioned or depressed. You might have a perfect dress but is lets down by filthy fingernails or chipped nail polish. These seem insignificant things directly affect an individual’s public image. It is equally important for an individual to take care his or her nails as putting impression and professional looks. One’s lifestyle and professionalism are reflected by the length, colour and shape of the nails. In general, there is a significant difference between male and female when it comes to nail grooming. As for males, they prefer their nails to look clean, short and smooth without any ragged cuticles. Minimal application of nail polish is seemed acceptable to the males but not intense nail care with fancy designs and colors which is associated with “unmanly”. As for their counterparts – females, they prefer their nails to be smooth with appropriate length. Once their nails are chipped off, they would prefer to maintain or remove them immediately. The utmost concern for the females’ nail grooming is centered in customers’ requests and expectations (Table I). Referring to Table I, it clearly shows that females’ nail grooming requirement is related by the industry’s standard or requirement. For instance, in entertainment industry, females workers in this industry are expected to have fancy, colorful and longer nails. In contrast, in banking or financial industry, female workers are expected to be more decent, appropriate, and polite. Hence, it is very unlikely to expect that these females would have fancy, colorful, and long fingernails. According to the official portal of Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade), the total market for cosmetics was valued at RM321.2m with imports of cosmetics and toiletries accounting for 72.3 percent of the domestic consumption in 2012; signifying growth potential. Besides, a UK-based Consultant Company; the Beauty Company concluded that the beauty industry has been the most consistent sector throughout the economic downturn and recovery cycle. As such, Malaysia should boost its participation in this sector as the revenue earner. Nowadays, it is not uncommon to come across people routinely spend more time to beautify and groom their nails for the sake of better appearance. For entrepreneurs looking to start a small business, participation in beauty industry may be an easy choice. As such, due to this phenomenon, we can detect the surge of nail salons and technicians mushrooming in many major towns in the country. Posh Nail Beauty (POSH) is a popular outlet in town to capture this business opportunity derived from the needs in nail grooming by offering premium services to the potential customers. POSH emphasizes the salience of beauty by Yin Kuan Ng is based at the Department of Entrepreneurship, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman – Perak Campus, Kampar, Malaysia. Ka Fei Lai, Chee Yang Fong, Thiam Yong Kuek, Peter Sin Howe Tan Nurliyana Maludin are all based at the Faculty of Business and Finance, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman – Perak Campus, Kampar, Malaysia. Disclaimer. This case is written solely for educational purposes and is not intended to represent successful or unsuccessful managerial decision-making. The authors may have dis- guised names; financial and other recognizable information to protect confidentiality. DOI 10.1108/EEMCS-01-2019-0013 VOL. 9 NO. 2 2019, pp. 1-19, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 2045-0621 j EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES j PAGE 1