Myntra eyes Diwali bounty with exclusive tie-ups, 3 private brands

Bangalore, Sept 4: With an eye on achieving $1-billion gross merchandise value in 2016, online fashion store Myntra will collaborate with around 20 brands to launch some of their products exclusively on its platform by the first week of October. It has tied up with brands like Puma, Vero Moda, Jack and Jones, Biba, Lee and Wrangler, among others, to launch over 1,000 styles, which is likely to give Myntra a timely boost during the ensuing festive season.

Having been acquired by online marketplace Flipkart at a valuation of $350-370 million, besides a promise of infusion of another $100 million, Myntra will add three more private brands to its kitty of eight before Diwali. The fashion e-tailer will also launch brands like New Look and Antony Morato by the end of September, in line with its aim to launch a new brand every fortnight.

“We are launching three private brands around Diwali, one in the formal category, one in kidswear and the other a licensed brand. We will continue to grow our private brands as they are important both from a differentiation point and also profitability aspect. They account for a fifth of our revenues,” Ganesh Subramanian, COO, Myntra, told FE.

Subramanian said Myntra will also focus on augmenting its technology capabilities, especially in the data analytics space. The e-tailer has formed a team of data scientists to closely monitor user engagement with products and the site as a whole, to streamline its product recommendation engine. Besides, mobile will be another area of focus. At present, Myntra generates around 40% of its orders from its mobile app and expects the figure to surge to over 60% by the end of the year.

“We are building a good team of data scientists, who see data in various forms. This will help us provide relevant recommendations to customers. Our marketing team can also use this data. It's a long journey and we are just 1% there,” Subramanian said.

According to a report by Accel Partners, one of the investors in Flipkart, the online fashion, footwear and accessories market in India was valued at $559 million in 2013 and is projected to reach $2.8 billion by 2016, growing at a CAGR of 71%.

Myntra is also looking to bring down discounts, which has been a norm with e-tailers. In fact, some e-tailers like Flipkart and Snapdeal have been accused of predatory pricing by brick and mortar retailers, especially in the electronics segment. Even electronics manufacturers like Asus and Lenovo have warned buyers against purchasing from Flipkart, Snapdeal and Amazon, saying they were not the authorised resellers of their products.

“Discounts have been going down for Myntra. Yes, discounts online are higher than one would wish, but every quarter it will come down. It has already dropped by three-four percentage points,” Subramanian added.