WATCH: Myntra Head Amar Nagaram on the Walmart impact, Myntra-Jabong unification, and their biggest sale
As Myntra readies for its biggest sale ever, Myntra-Jabong Head Amar Nagaram speaks to YourStory on the e-tailer's game plan, how their kiosks are enabling easier delivery, and how the company is planning to grow this year.
Amar Nagaram took charge as the head of India’s online fashion market leader Myntra early this year. Amar succeeded Ananth Narayanan, who was in charge for three years, after spending six years at Flipkart, which owns Myntra.
Talking to YourStory in one of his first media interactions since taking charge at Myntra, Amar says his current role was one he had never expected to be in. “I was in Category at Flipkart in my last role there, but Myntra is hard core fashion. Now, I am a techie doing fashion business,” he says.
Recently, the workforce at Gurgaon-based Jabong, which Myntra acquired in 2016, was absorbed into Myntra, taking the company’s total strength above 2,000 people. US retailer Walmart last year acquired the Flipkart Group, which includes not just Myntra and Jabong, but also PhonePe, Ekart, and Jeeves, among others.
Amar spoke to YourStory when Myntra is readying for its annual flagship sale event – the End of Reason Sale (EoRS) to be held from June 21 to 24. This is Amar’s first EoRS, and supposedly Myntra’s biggest sale event ever. This is the 10th edition of the EoRS, and 32 million customers are expected to shop on Myntra during the next eight days. He opened up about not just the preparations for the EoRS, but also on Walmart and Jabong’s synergy with Myntra.
Kiosks that are more than pick up centres
Although Myntra’s average deliveries on a normal day stand at 300-400, over 1,600 daily deliveries are expected during EoRS. Myntra has set up five first-of-their-kind kiosks across Bengaluru, Delhi, and Hyderabad, in high density areas like tech parks.
In fact, Myntra is launching 30 kiosks by mid-August across key cities to enable easier delivery in high-demand areas. This is expected to lessen the number of delivery attempts, and make it easier for customers to collect at their convenience.
Returns are also accepted at these kiosks, which will be manned by Myntra. Its tailor-partners enable alterations in case of demand, as a trial room is part of the kiosk.
Myntra claims that, on an average, these tailors can undertake 10 alterations per day per center. It also says their pilot at the Manyata Tech Park in Bengaluru over last year led to 7 percent lesser returns. During this EoRS, it will have five centres for kiosks.
Unique strategies
Myntra’s game plan for the EoRS includes games on its app. Amar elaborates, “We started engaging users on our platform 10 days before the event. With three games on our platform, we saw 3.5 lakh users engaging with our platform, playing these games. We also incentivise the gameplay; users win insider coins, which they can redeem during the sale (on top of the sale discounts).”
Another unique approach is to reveal prices days in advance (before the sale officially starts) to provide users the option of ensuring that they get the product that they want without fear of it stocking out. Myntra is expecting three lakh orders in this EoRS through early access.
“The 10th edition of EORS will be the biggest ever with over 2.2 million unique customers. We expect over 5.5 lakh customers to shop on Myntra for the first time... and over 8 million products to be ordered for EoRS 10 with the platform geared to handle a 12,000 orders per minute at peak,” Amar adds.
Innovation for India
Myntra expects about 50 percent of its sales to come from Tier II and III towns of India. To boost its delivery network, Myntra is collaborating with 12,500 stores, which Amar claims, manages 70 percent of the deliveries for EoRS 10.
“The kind of consumer satisfaction we are getting via this network is phenomenal. In fact, we have hit our highest net promoter score (NPS) last month, in terms of last-mile delivery. Under this network, the customer can pick up the order from his nearest kirana store, which has partnered with us, or get it delivered at home from there. Their familiarity with the neighborhood makes it easier for kiranas also,” Amar says.
Walmart has already helped Myntra’s private brands enter Canada. Asked about Myntra’s plans for this year, Amar says the company has not set any targets in terms of expansion to the US. The company has opened offline stores in Bengaluru for its private label Roadster, but he did not elaborate on plans in this regard.
Amar says that this year, Myntra is seeing the consumer experience through the technology lens, more than ever. “We will do deeper investments into technology to enable an enhanced seamless consumer experience. We're looking at very sustainable growth targets for this year. That is growth powered by sustainable investments by being an efficient organisation, and also being smart, driven by data, and technology,” Amar adds.
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