A look at what sets apart fashion and lifestyle online marketplace Myntra that houses over 23 lakh styles from 6000 national and international brands
Founded by Mukesh Bansal, Ashutosh Lawania, and Vineet Saxena in 2007, Myntra started as an online retailer of personalised gifts. Gradually, the company shifted its focus on selling fashion and lifestyle products and became a popular go-to destination for such products.
In May 2014, horizontal marketplace Flipkart acquired Myntra and continued to build it as a vertical fashion, beauty and lifestyle-focused marketplace. Over the years, Myntra has grown from strength to strength, becoming a preferred partner for international brands entering India.
The Bengaluru-based online marketplace currently houses over 23 lakh styles from 6,000 Indian and global fashion, beauty and lifestyle brands. As of December 2023, Myntra retailed over 400 foreign brands including H&M, Levis, U.S. Polo Assn., Tommy Hilfiger, Mango, Nautica, Forever 21, Slazenger, Marks & Spencer, Crocs, M.A.C, and Fossil. Out of these, the platform added over 50 international brands in 2023. These include well-known names like Next, Oasis, Anne Klein, FCUK, BoohooMan, Parfois, Herschel Supply Co, Saucony, Gymshark, Champion, Iconic, Adidas by Stella McCartney collection and Barry M.
Omnichannel Growth
Recognising the importance of omnichannel retailing, Myntra expanded its presence offline
through initiatives like Myntra Studio, a store concept offering personalised styling services, and partnerships with brick-and-mortar retailers. It was launched to provide personalised fashion recommendations to its users.
In 2023, the brand recorded about 75 million new app users with its customer base growing by 100% year-on-year (YoY) in the last 18 months, as per a company release. During the festive season, Myntra registered a record high of 60 million monthly active users.
“We’ve had a phenomenal year and are proud of the efforts put in by the teams along with brands. We’ve added the highest number of new users and new customers this year, whilst doubling our loyal customer base,” said Sunder Balasubramanian, Chief Marketing Officer at Myntra.
“It’s been heartening to see how multifaceted our growth has been. In our commitment to provide a delightful shopping experience to customers, we continue to make several strides and achieve major milestones,” commented Balasubramanian, on customer expansion and growth.
It also experienced a 70% YoY surge in the direct-to-consumer (D2C) sector during the last quarter. Additionally, Myntra Minis, a short-form video content offering, based on the reels format, has witnessed 1 million daily views.
Popular Categories
Beauty: The beauty charter, with over 1500 brands and more than 90,000 stock-keeping units (SKUs), has grown by over four times in the last three years. Throughout the year, Myntra Beauty witnessed a ~200% YoY growth in men buying skincare products. Myntra Beauty grew a whopping 3X of the market in 2023, with a high repeat rate on the platform. The virtual try-on feature on Myntra Beauty too has witnessed good adoption. The brand reported that the feature enabled a 1.5X jump in consideration and 2X jump in conversion on the Makeup category styles. The feature leverages Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality to personalise and improve the shopping journey on the platform.
The Virtual Try-On feature has now also been extended to makeup categories like lipstick, blush, eyeliner, eyeshadow, mascara, foundation, contour, highlighter, and concealers, among others. There was a notable surge in men’s beauty and personal care purchases, particularly in selfskincare, acne and pimple care, hair removal spray, and ingredients-led products like serum, face wash, and body wash. Foundation and concealers, with sheet masks for hydration and glowing skin, are also gaining popularity.
Home: Myntra’s home category has recorded a 50% Y–Y growth, as per a release by the brand. During the Big Fashion Festival, Myntra strengthened its collection in the home category by adding 50,000 new products and over 20 new brands. Popular segments in the portfolio include home furnishing, art and decor pieces, lamps, kitchen and dining products, bath and bed linen and appliances.
“As a leading fashion, beauty and lifestyle e-commerce platform, we are seeing a steady rise in demand for stylish and unique home products and with home decor taking centre stage during the festive season in India we have strengthened the selection to cater to the home demands of our fashion-forward customers,” stated Sharon Pais, Chief Business Officer, Myntra in a press release.
Currently, Myntra houses over 750 brands and more than 2 lakh home category products on the platform. Some of the brands include Bombay Dyeing, Spaces, D’Decor, H&M Home, Starbucks, Anko, Philips, JC Collection, and Ellementary.
Myntra is also revamping its in-app experience for the segment, with updated images that highlight the look and feel of the products and already introduced a home icon in the top bar navigation. Additionally, Myntra is also working on implementing features that will help shoppers reimagine how their homes would look with its products by leveraging technology.
Fashion: In May 2023, Myntra introduced FWD, an app-in-app proposition for Gen Z. The segment has recorded 2.25 times YoY surge in demand on the platform and witnessed a 175% YoY growth in customers. In addition to 90,000 styles, Myntra FWD offers a personalised experience to users in a ‘spot it get it’ format, solving for discoverability and access to global trends with its tech-led proposition.
Myntra collaborates with leading fashion designers, celebrities, and brands to offer exclusive collections. It also explored international markets, including launching operations in the Middle East, catering to the diaspora and local consumers’ fashion needs.
Sales
Myntra conducts mega sales thrice a year—one at the start of the year, one in the middle of the year and one at the end of the year. Called the End of Reason Sale (EORS), these account for millions of orders during the sale period which lasts anywhere between four to 10 days. The 18th of EORs registered ~50% growth in the number of new customers using the platform over the previous summer edition of EORS. The edition saw 55% of the demand coming in from the nonmetro regions. On offer were products from 21 lakh styles and 6000 brands.
Revenue
The operating revenue of Myntra grew 25% to Rs4,375 crore in the financial year ended 31 March 2023, even as losses widened by 31% to Rs782 crore in the same period. The firm had reported Rs3,501 crore in operating revenue in the previous fiscal year, while incurring a loss of Rs597 crore, according to filings sourced through business intelligence platform Tofler.
