Two and a half years ago, Mukesh Bansal, then CEO of fashion and lifestyle portal Myntra, had predicted that the fledgling e-commerce market in India would see consolidation over the next two years, with clear leaders emerging in each category.

Today, Myntra, which was acquired by Flipkart in May, dominates the online fashion and lifestyle space.

Along with Flipkart, Myntra holds 60 per cent of the online fashion business, said Bansal. The combined entity is set to lead the fashion business with over $2 billion in sales by 2016.

“Consolidation has happened in the industry and there are clear leaders in each category. Flipkart is the largest horizontal e-commerce player in the country,” said Bansal, who continues to be CEO of Myntra and is also the head of fashion at Flipkart.

“Myntra is the largest vertical player in high street, premium and bridge-to-luxury fashion. Myntra is the high fashion counterpart to Flipkart’s mass appeal fashion proposition.” Flipkart, which recently raised $1 billion, has committed to investing $100 million in the fashion business. Flush with cash, huge investments are being made in technology, supply chain and marketing for brand-building.

“Right now, we want to make sure that we fully capitalise on the market potential with the money that we have raised to remain dominant in the online fashion business,” said Bansal. According to experts, fashion as a category is expected to outdo electronics over the next couple of years, which is why Flipkart acquired Myntra.

Style service

At Myntra, Bansal’s focus is on building a vertical fashion destination with a very strong fashion DNA. He is investing in initiatives that create a differentiated experience for fashion conscious shoppers.

On Wednesday, Myntra invited Bollywood actress Nargis Fakhri to Bangalore to launch ‘Style Service’, a complimentary telephonic style helpline that enables people to get trendy tips for “perfect look”. Myntra signed up two-time Filmfare award winner Kangana Ranaut as the brand ambassador for its private brand DressBerry last month.

The company ventured into private brands in December 2013 and has since developed a portfolio of eight private brands – Roadster, HRX by Hrithik Roshan, Sher Singh, Anouk, Kook N Keech, Mast & Harbour and ETC—which offer up to 60 per cent margin and contribute to 20 per cent of Myntra’s overall revenue.

Myntra has also signed up actor Ranveer Singh as the brand ambassador for Roadster.

Luxury segment

“We plan to enter the luxury segment next year which will be priced at ₹10,000 upwards. Our premium products range from ₹3,000 to ₹10,000,” said Bansal.

The company is on track to launch one new international fashion brand every fortnight. “We are seeing huge amount of interest from international brands. This has given us a huge pipeline and we can take our pick on which brands we want to launch in India,” he said.

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