Myntra is losing its Fashion Game

Do you also feel that Myntra's homepage on most days screams “End of Reason Sale (EORS)”? 
They have these bright banners screaming  "Grab or Gone Deals", and "OMG! Deals” like all of the time. Well you are not wrong.

As per The Ken, Myntra has 22 sale days per month—double the count from two years ago. In contrast, its competitor Ajio barely managed 14 such days. But why so?

Flipkart owned Myntra is one of the largest fashion e-commerce company in India isn’t really growing as it used to. 
You see, In FY23, Myntra’s operating revenue grew by just 25% from a year ago, however before that the company was growing its revenue by 45% YOY.

Even with its addition of Myntra FWD, a immersive app-in-app shopping experience tailored for this Gen Z and its focus of growing its beauty segment. It’s revenue growth has been a laggard.

Despite drawing in a massive 50 million monthly users, translating this traffic into sales had become increasingly challenging. The glory days of witnessing a 5-6X surge in sales during mega events were now a distant memory, dwindling down to a mere 2X recently.

Even Myntra's flagship private labels like Roadster and HRX weren't spared from the downturn. Sales had dipped, causing the company's revenue to fall short of targets by a significant margin during each sales event.

In an attempt to reverse this trend, Myntra went all out for the 2023 End of Reason Sale, offering deeper discounts than rivals Ajio and Tata Cliq. 

Financial strains were mounting, with losses accumulating and revenue growth stagnating. This was a stark departure from the heydays under Bansal's leadership. The once-achievable gross margin targets were now frequently missed, hinting at underlying structural issues within the company.

As employee morale hit rock bottom, reports of mass layoffs and a gloomy outlook for the future surfaced. Town hall meetings turned into uninspiring affairs, lacking any meaningful strategy or motivation.

The influx of leadership from Flipkart ushered in a seismic shift, steering Myntra towards a mass-market approach. However, this transition came at a cost—neglecting the very essence of Myntra's success, its private labels. The relentless pursuit of onboarding numerous brands clashed with the profit-generating potential of private labels, resulting in a decline in their share of revenue.

Myntra's venture into beauty and personal care mirrored its struggles in other segments, with profitability remaining elusive despite initial growth. Meanwhile, competitors like Nykaa had already cemented their position in the beauty market, leaving Myntra scrambling for market share.

In a bid to rejuvenate its fortunes, Myntra set its sights on younger consumers through initiatives like Myntra FWD and 'Rising Stars'. However, fierce competition from Ajio posed a formidable challenge, offering superior delivery and enticing deals.

As Myntra navigated these tumultuous waters, the coming months held the key to its future trajectory. Whether it could achieve profitability or reignite growth would determine if the upheavals of the past years were worthwhile. With Walmart's scrutiny looming large, the pressure was on for Myntra to deliver results and reclaim its former glory.