Myntra, an Indian e-commerce company has roped in Urbanic, a London-based digital fashion platform, marking the latter’s first venture in the domain of e-commerce.
The collaboration is intended primarily for a target audience of mostly youngsters, as both the companies have significant reach among the youth.
Urbanic, specifically, boasts of having worked with several celebrities and “influencers” or people who have a massive fanbase on several social media cumulatively. The brand has retailing available in countries like India, the UK, Russia and parts of Latin America, etc.
In the backdrop of the prevailing pandemic situation, many businesses are coming online and experimenting with their business models in a digital workspace.
Needless to say, there has been a paradigm shift and people are preferring products available online more than traditional offline retailing, according to a survey by Google, where 66% of respondents voted for online and 27% offline.
This is one of the reasons for a strategic partnership betwixt many companies, and Myntra and Urbanic in this case.
Background
Myntra, which initially began as a personalized on-demand product provider, operating on a business-to-business model, has grown into a formidable e-commerce company, becoming a household name.
It was acquired by Flipkart for USD 280 million, sponsored by influential angel investing firms Tiger Global and Accel Partners.
Myntra currently operates independently and its parent is now Walmart after the latter’s acquisition of Flipkart with a 77% stake for a valuation of USD 16 billion in a bid to enter the Indian marketplace.
Urbanic, on the other hand, is a UK-based brand, quite new to the digital fashion sector and claims to be leveraging the usage of “AI & Data Science” to seamlessly serve customers.
Plans Ahead
In the recent partnership, it is planned that 2,500 different styles of clothing and apparel collections comprising pairs of denim, tops, swimwear, accessories, lingerie, etc. will be made available on Myntra.
Ayappan Rajagopal, Chief Business Officer of Myntra, opines that this move is aimed to lure “Gen Z” people who have an avid taste in style, decor and vogue and with their digitally native presence, it can boost Myntra’s portfolio.
Currently, Urbanic is popular in tier-1 and tier-2 cities and has a significant social media following.
This platforming will enable a plethora of brands’ easy discovery and provide “impeccable service” along with Myntra’s assurances of top-notch customer service and “hassle-free returns” for encouraging shoppers to try out clothes and garments and also give constructive feedback, Rajagopalan added.
