Myntra exploring offline channel in search of profitability

Online fashion and lifestyle e-tailer, Myntra has launched its first offline retail store in Bangalore to promote the sales its top selling private label, Roadster.

According to Myntra, Roadster which was launched in 2012, currently contributes 8 per cent of the overall revenue of Myntra. The private label currently lists 7,500 products, and aims to achieve a run rate of Rs 1000 crore by FY2019.

"The purpose of this store is to create a Roadster brand experience," said Ananth Narayanan, CEO of Myntra. "Of course it will do sales, but more importantly it represents the brand and it gives us the chance to experiment with omnichannel technology which we will apply in many other areas."

Exploring offline channel is not a new thing though, as prominent e-tailers like Pepperfry, Lenskart, Nykaa, CaratLane and Zivame have already established their offline presence which complements their existing online businesses.

In an attempt to move away from discounting model and to turn profitable, Myntra is now looking at clinching more attractive deals from different brands, wherein they will not only have exclusive rights to sell their products online but will have offline distribution rights as well.

Myntra also understands that growing its private label business online as well as offline will also help it to turn profitable and creating premium experience zone for customers offline will help them to achieve that goal faster.

Hence, the 4,000 sq ft store, is being promoted more as an experience centre with video and VR elements.

To engage customers, the store features video walls, controlled by shoppers through multi-action touch-interface to showcase the products and recommend products to suit different styles.

There will also be a 'Scan & Go' mechanism which will allow shoppers to add products directly to their shopping cart on the Myntra app by scanning product bar codes, and pay online. This will help shoppers who hate standing in the long billing queues at checkout counters.

The company said it has used data and intelligence collected from its app to build the store, and will primarily focus on this particular offline experiment for the next 8-12 months.

"For most offline stores the problem I think is driving traffic or footfalls, but for instance, we know that there are 40,000 Roadster customers in this area. There are many things we know from the data we get on the app, and we are deploying those learnings," said Myntra’s CTO Ajit Narayanan.

Myntra said it has plans to use proximity-based targeted ads to attract footfalls. Another plan is to use the store as a pick-up point for orders placed online and a drop-off centre for product returns.