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Tag: Myntra

  • Rishi Vasudev to head Myntra-Jabong fashion and lifestyle division

    Rishi Vasudev to head Myntra-Jabong fashion and lifestyle division

    MUMBAI: Just a week after naming Amar Nagaram as the head of Myntra-Jabong, Flipkart has now promoted its fashion department head Rishi Vasudev to handle the additional responsibility of the fashion and lifestyle categories of its fashion portals Myntra and Jabong. Earlier this month, Vasudev was promoted as senior vice president.

    While Nagaram will now be heading the product, tech, and customer experience, Vasudev will be overseeing the fashion and lifestyle at Myntra and Jabong. Both of them will be reporting to Flipkart CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy.

    Prior joining Flipkart, Vasudev was appointed with Calvin Klien in India as CEO. He is the third Flipkart executive, following Ayyappan R and Nagaram to have been given responsibilities in Myntra and Jabong since Walmart acquired the company in August last year.

  • Myntra, Jabong Christmas sales attract 2.5 mn online buyers

    Myntra, Jabong Christmas sales attract 2.5 mn online buyers

    MUMBAI: As revealed by a company statement, Myntra and Jabong collectively had 2.5 million shoppers shopping from their 22 to 25 December special sale. The shoppers ordered eight million products during the sale.

    The shopping carnival also saw 7.2 lakh new customers ordering through the portals. The two portals together sold 1,200 products per minute during the four-day sale.

    "The ninth edition of End of Reason Sale concluded with Myntra and Jabong recording a massive surge in sale and traffic," read the statement released by Flipkart-owned Myntra.

    As a result of the sale, the fashion portals saw a 700 per cent surge in sales and 120 per cent increase in online traffic over normal business days, it added.

    American retail giant Walmart-owned leading e-commerce player Flipkart Group includes online fashion portals Myntra and Jabong.

    "Sports goods were the highest selling category with a total of eight lakh pairs of shoes sold across the country during the sale," the statement added.

  • Myntra CEO Ananth Narayanan quits

    Myntra CEO Ananth Narayanan quits

    MUMBAI: Myntra’s chief executive officer (CEO) Ananth Narayanan has resigned and Flipkart executive Amar Nagaram will head Myntra, according to a report by Livemint.

    Before joining Myntra, Narayanan has worked with Marico Ltd as a board member for 17 months and prior to that he was with McKinsey & Co for almost 15 years across four offices (Chicago, Shanghai, Taipei and Chennai). As a director in the organisation he was responsible for leading the product development practice in Asia and worked with several companies on strategy, operations and organisational models.

    Ananth has a vast experience and knowledge from years in consultancy and managing operations to mentor start-ups. He also has deep expertise in driving performance improvement and product development.

    Key Myntra leaders such as chief revenue officer Mithun Sundar, who took charge in April, and human resources head Manpreet Ratia, who also oversaw operations, supply chain and customer experience at Myntra, have also resigned, according to reports.

    While Myntra has been growing fast, Jabong has struggled. Myntra bought Jabong in July 2016 from Rocket Internet for $70 million mainly to avoid a rival buying it. It is still unclear whether Flipkart will choose to keep the Jabong brand and platform alive. While Jabong will continue to operate for now, Flipkart may shutter the platform after a few months.

    Key leaders such as former strategy head Ananya Tripathi and former Jabong head Gunjan Soni have resigned from Myntra. The list is expected to grow over the coming weeks.

  • NewsPoint launches a reward program ‘NewsPoint Tokens’ for its users

    NewsPoint launches a reward program ‘NewsPoint Tokens’ for its users

    New Delhi: Keeping in line with its promise of providing a delightful experience to its consumers, Times Internet's multilingual information & engagement platform, NewsPoint today announced the launch of an unique customer gratification programme. Newspoint Tokens is a virtual currency powered by TimesPoints, that users can redeem for exciting offers at several brand partners including Amazon Pay, BookMyShow, Paytm Travel, ixigo, Myntra, Dineout, Gaana and TimesPrime among others. The reward program will soon add more exciting offers and benefits to its fold.

    With a wide variety of services available for redemption, NewsPoint Tokens aims to build more consumer loyalty while adding additional engagement layers to the app.

    “We are delighted to announce the launch of NewsPoint Tokens. The program seamlessly  integrates with the core experience of the NewsPoint app.  Users earn tokens as they read stories and /or watch videos. Further, bonus tokens are awarded for our most loyal users who use the app daily for 7 days or more ” said Ruchir Khanna, Product Head, NewsPoint.

    This is in line with our aim to drive engagement and consumer loyalty. Over the last one year, Newspoint has witnessed already 5X growth in users and hopefully consumer gratification will allow us to not only keep the reader constantly engage but also provide a wow experience across the NewsPoint platforms” said Ruchir Khanna,Product Head,NewsPoint.

  • Myntra’s Email Campaign Performance Increases by 60% withSmartech’s Proprietary AI-Powered Marketing Suite

    Myntra’s Email Campaign Performance Increases by 60% withSmartech’s Proprietary AI-Powered Marketing Suite

    MUMBAI: Myntra, one of the most recognisable brands in the country’s digital fashion space, continues to benefit greatly from Netcore’sAI-powered growth marketing platform, Smartech. Myntra has been able to power customer engagement at incredible scale using Smartech’s comprehensive analytics and engagement ecosystem to produce 60% better results when it comes to their email marketing campaigns.

    This uplift which is 2X that of industry standards, underscores how established brands can hit impressive growth figures by incorporating AI as part of their broader marketing strategy. These results were achieved by partnering with Smartech, a product of Netcore Solutions, a global pioneer in the martech space, for over 4 years.

    In these times of multi-channel engagement, email continues to be the most valuable channel for marketing messages, with average open rates of 17% and CTRs (Click-Through Rates) of 2.3%. Therefore, it has a significant impact on the bottomlines of online retailers since conversions are directly related to campaign performance. 

    Myntra’spressing challenge was to ensure that its marketing emails get delivered in the “Primary” tab of their customer’s inbox, rather than the “Promotions” tab. Driving Primary Inbox delivery drastically enhances the chances of eventual conversions instead of getting lost in the daily clutter of other promotional email.

    Smartech addressed this challengethrough a 3-pronged approach:

    1. AI-powered Dynamic Delivery: Smartech helps enhance delivery rate through Primary Inboxing, which helped increase the Click-Through Rates (CTRs) by 1.5X
    2. Neural Networks coupled with Smart Segments: A component of AI, Neural Networks identified customer segments based on their brand affinity, gleaned from data regarding their interactions and transaction history. These can pick up the smallest of signals with regard to delivery used to then auto-adjust the campaign throughput
    3. Consultancy-driven Content Optimisation: By leveraging Smartech’s AI and Machine Learning capabilities, Myntra was able to zero in on the right content and creativesfor its audiences as well as identify the best times for sending their emails, all aimed at maximising conversions through compelling calls to action

    Mr.Aashish Kumar, Senior Manager, CRM & Growth at Myntra stated, “Netcore'sSmartech has been critical to our customer retention strategy, and we have partnered with them for 4+ years now. Using AI-based delivery, Smartech has helped us in Primary Inboxing, achieving 60% improvement in email campaign performance which is 2X that of average industry standards.”

    Kalpit Jain, Group CEO at NetcoreSolutions, added, “Myntrahas been a valuable partner over the years and we are thrilled to be playing a role in their growth story. Brands that adopt AI and Machine Learning as part of their marketing strategy are far likelier remain ahead of the curve. Our work for Myntrahighlights the immense power of AI in making the best possible utilisation of customer data, and should serve as encouragement for marketers across the industry. We look forward to scaling greater heights with Myntra in the years to come.” 

  • Binny Bansal steps down as Flipkart group CEO

    Binny Bansal steps down as Flipkart group CEO

    MUMBAI: Flipkart group CEO Binny Bansal has stepped down following an investigation into alleged "serious personal misconduct”, although he has denied the allegation.

    Walmart Inc, in a press statement, said, “His decision follows an independent investigation done on behalf of Flipkart and Walmart into an allegation of serious personal misconduct, He strongly denies the allegation. Nevertheless, we had a responsibility to ensure the investigation was deliberate and thorough."

    About the investigation, Walmart said that it did not find evidence to corroborate the complainant’s assertions against Bansal but it did reveal other lapses in judgement, particularly a lack of transparency, related to how he responded to the situation. "Because of this, we have accepted his decision to resign," the statement read.

    Kalyan Krishnamurthy will continue as the CEO of Flipkart, including Myntra and Jabong, confirmed Walmart. Ananth Narayanan will continue as the CEO of Myntra and Jabong and will report to Krishnamurthy.

  • BrandVid – Can a brand become a media company?

    BrandVid – Can a brand become a media company?

    MUMBAI: Traditional media companies today have a very diverse story and narrative no matter what the subject. A consistent story is shared across paid, earned and owned media. However, media companies are more than that today. They create programming and/or distribute it. They also share the content via various media channels.

    But what we’ve been increasingly seeing is that brands have now started to become media companies by creating and distributing their in-house content. 

    It is challenging for a traditional agency to sustain and survive in a competing environment like this. But is there a way where brands, agencies and publishers can co-exist and collaborate? Well, that was precisely the topic of discussion at BrandVid 2018, powered by Colors. The session saw industry leaders discuss on whether a brand can after all become a media company. And if yes, how can they monetise their assets. 

    Clearly disagreeing with the proposition, Firstpost business head of revenue & strategy Anurag Iyer believes that the objective of becoming a media company and becoming a brand are completely different. He said, “Redbull as a business looks at its studio business as a separate entity and has great traction back to its website, but does its film on adventure and sports result in more Redbulls being sold? I don’t think so! But does it have a great brand rub off with their audiences? Absolutely!”

    On the other hand, Online Fashion portal Myntra is a brand as well as an e-commerce company that is also a media company to some extend as it creates in-house content. But does that mean it will become a full-fledged media company in the time to come? Probably! Myntra VP marketing Achint Setia is of the opinion that brands need to first figure out the role of content and the business objective. For a brand, its business objective is to drive revenue and sales and that’s where content plays a critical role. “Brands have a role to play in consumer’s mind and they should stick to that role. However, that role can get enhanced and more meaningful with the right use of content.”

    But while brands are struggling to find their sweet spot in the cluttered media ecosystem, there hasn’t been a better time for agencies as they get to have the cake and eat it too. Isobar Group MD South Asia Shamsuddin Jasani wants partake of that cake. Though it is a difficult proposition, big global brands want to monetise their content. Global FMCG giants Mondelez and Pepsi want 20-30 per cent of their spends to be recovered via video content and Isobar doesn’t want to miss out on that opportunity. 

    A lot of brands mistake content’s role in their business lifecycle. It is not about monetising content for the sake of it or about using content as an ROI drive. It is more about using content to have a deeper relationship with your community. 

    Shamsuddin said, "Big advertisers feel there is some monetisation that needs to happen and they are all grappling with how to create those monetisation opportunities. As an agency, we are working with brands to create those IPs. As brands, they will do it and as agencies we will have to do it because we don’t have a choice or they will push us to do it.”

    Although it’s a vicious and profitable cycle, but when does a brand pause, take a step back and think whether they are overstepping their business objective and should rather focus on sales and revenue? That’s exactly what Marico head of media and digital marketing Ankit Desai thinks. He believes it will be a few hits and a lot of misses for brands if they go the media company route. “While media companies can deal with many misses and start over again, it’s a different ball game for brands as it is linked back to business objective where you don’t have the option of repetitive failure since your marketing money will be wasted and that’s really the challenge.”

    Getting customer attention is a task for most marketers today. The millennial consumer will not stick to your content no matter how well made it is if it isn’t engaging and informative enough. It will take a lot of time for brands to understand the young customer of today. Agreeing that brands will become media companies in the future, Fastrack head of marketing Ayushman Chiranewala said that you cannot time when it will actually happen. He however thinks that it will come from a different business need which will be to be on the top of customer mind because getting the customer attention will only keep getting difficult in the future.

    Brands will become media companies in the times to come and there is no denying that but the timeline is likely to vary. For Myntra, it may happen in less than three years from now whereas Fastrack believes it will take five to 10 years. Interestingly, today content creators are also becoming brands in themselves. They create an IP and later sell products around the IP, eventually creating a brand. 

    All in all, maybe the world in the future will not be about everyone trying to do everything but about a lot of collaborations and partnerships. But every brand and creator should keep their minds open and think about consumer intent first.

  • ‘Imperfect’, the third original series from The Zoom Studios rewrites the notion of a perfect life

    ‘Imperfect’, the third original series from The Zoom Studios rewrites the notion of a perfect life

    MUMBAI: The Zoom Studios, original content arm of zoOm styled by Myntra is all set to celebrate the imperfections in life with its new show – ‘Imperfect’. The romantic comedy, unfolds the journey of 27-year-old girl Isha Sanghvi, who in her relentless pursuit of perfection faces a whirlwind of uncertainties that life throws her way and rediscovers herself when her fairy tale world gets shattered.  Creating a buzz on social media within a short span of time, ‘Imperfect’ show promo has received rave reviews and garnered an astounding 2.5 million views. The show will premiere Thursday, November 1 at 8.00 p.m. on The Zoom Studios YouTube Channel and zoOm styled by Myntra.        

    Isha Sanghvi, played by Samridhi Dewan, is not a typical conventional lead protagonist. She is a simple, naive young woman with her own quirks. Nothing in life can be perfectly planned and Isha reached rock bottom after losing both, her job and her prince charming. As her dreams crumble in front of her eyes, Isha sets on a journey to turn around her imperfect life. A 55-year-old sassy Life Coach, Simmy played by Sushmita Mukherjee, teaches Isha to love herself, to stand up for herself and to value herself. When her life falls apart, Isha realizes perfection is an overrated concept.

    Speaking on the latest offering, Imperfect, Nikhil Gandhi, President, Times Network says, “We are excited to launch our new original series, ‘Imperfect’, a slice of life and refreshing take on the concept of perfection. We are particularly thrilled with the initial response the show is getting on the trailer and show look. Unconventional and humorous in its storytelling & treatment, I’m sure the show will strongly resonate with the audience. At Zoom Studios, it’s our continuous attempt to deliver on our promise of offering real, conversational and engaging content.”

    Imperfect is produced by Anand Tiwari and Amritpal Singh Bindra of Still and Still Media Collective’s (SSMC) and directed by India’s first female director duo – Vidhi Gulati and Ruchi Joshi.

  • BrandVid 2018 sees industry stalwarts discussing video marketing in depth

    BrandVid 2018 sees industry stalwarts discussing video marketing in depth

    MUMBAI: Video is the new glue fusing brands with their consumers thanks to the massive explosion in consumption on digital and handheld devices. Marketers are working overtime to understand the nuances of video storytelling, platforms ‐ social or web destinations and distribution in order to build stronger bonds between brands and their fans. 

    Brands are increasingly realising the importance of branded content and video marketing as a whole. It is no longer a one size fits all formula but rather customised content that is often native and geo-targeted. To learn and delve deeper into understanding video marketing as a crucial marketing tool, Indiantelevision.com hosted industry stalwarts at Sahara Star, Mumbai for BrandVid 2018, powered by Colors. The annual event is the ideal place for the industry to converge, discuss and ideate on the way forward for brand marketing.

    The day-long summit was held with a vision to optimise the use of video as a brand communication tool and get a better bang for the buck for all those operating in the ecosystem. BrandVid brought together publishers, broadcasters, digital platforms, agencies, technology, brands and social media outlets to share notes and best practices, exchange ideas, understand and forecast video trends and build relationships.

    The glittery event saw industry leaders from Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Myntra, Marico, Fastrack, GroupM, VICE India, Bosch Home Appliances, Syska Group, Prajakta Koli, Miss Malini, Times Network, TVF, Onida, White Rivers Media, L'Oréal and more. 

    The conference began with a keynote from Havas Media CEO India and South Asia Anita Nayyar where she discussed at length about how digital videos have grown significantly over the past two years from mere 60 million in 2015 to an astounding 200+ million digital video reach in 2017. She also highlighted that India stands second in the global mobile traffic share and the impact of Jio saw 48 per cent drop in data prices amongst other players. She also mentioned that today, 39 per cent of the content coming out of brands is meaningless and also 55 per cent of the youth is still watching television.

    This was followed by a panel discussion on how important are branded videos to print publications and broadcasters and how are print and television media companies taking advantage of the large reach that they have through content in video format. On this, Group M business head of entertainment sports and live events Vinit Karnik said that if content is the king, distribution is god, then data is new oil that will pump up the mechanism. In the same discussion, Lokmat Media senior EVP and head of digital business Hemant Jain also noted that there is an over emphasis on data, due to which creativity is getting lost in the hype.

    Facebook, Twitter and Youtube are the social giants today but what is the play for branded videos with these giants?  What is each of them offering to brands and how do brands operate in this universe were some of the key questions that were highlighted in the next panel where YouTube India entertainment head Satya Raghavan pointed out that the best practice a brand can follow is to think like a creator rather than a brand itself.

    Speaking on the top 5 things to keep in mind for branded videos for both television and digital, Byju’s marketing head Atit Mehta highlighted that the hero of Byju’s business is the content that they create in house. An important insight that was highlighted at the session was that 75 per cent of videos played on Facebook were without sound which goes to prove that the audience is ‘looking’ at the content more rather than ‘watching' and listening to it. Hence, it is important for marketers to create more visually engaging videos. UltraTechCement brand building head Sanchita Ganguly concluded by stating that insights, respecting medium, conversation and being dynamic is important for branded video.

    In a fireside chat with Indiantelevision.com editor in chief Anil Wanvari, Vice India CEO Chanpreet Arora spoke about how brands can be at the forefront in videos and there is no need to hide brands as consumers love to be entertained.

    The event was also the appropriate venue for Vidooly to unveil a report on the rise of branded content in India that forecast that the branded content ecosystem in India is going to be worth Rs 745 crore in 2022.

    We all agree that influencers have become celebrities in themselves and they carry a brand value. The products they use, the car they drive or the mobile phone they use have at some point or the other influenced our buying decisions. Hence, investing in influencers is key to a brand. But how can broadcasters, publishers use the influencers they have to build their communities and marry them with brands to have that multiplier factor? On this panel, White Rivers Media CEO and co-founder Shrenik Gandhi said that the fundamental of influential marketing is trust whereas Loose Cannons Studio COO Gaurav Lulla added that influential marketing may not necessarily mean brand endorsement and it goes way beyond that. 

    The last session of the evening was an analysis of measuring the efficacy of videos where Legrand India head of marketing communications Laxman Tari stated that brand integration is reassuringly possible for entertainment industry and it does not work with news or current affairs. For L’Oreal India 60-70 per cent of its advertising money goes into videos. On a concluding note, the brand’s media and digital head Neel Pandya pointed out that unified measurement of TV and digital is the biggest challenge today for companies.

    For marketers there never has been a better time to create and distribute videos. But it has also never been so complicated to reach audiences. They need to remember that whatever is the format of the content, it needs to be meaningful!

  • Zoom Studios launches its second series, ‘Ready 2 Mingle’

    Zoom Studios launches its second series, ‘Ready 2 Mingle’

    MUMBAI: After the resounding success of The Reunion, The Zoom Studios, the original content arm of zoOm styled by Myntra is back with its second series- Ready 2 Mingle. The show which has already captivated the interest of the audiences with its promo is all set to hit the television screens on Saturday, August 11 at 7.30pm on zoOm styled by Myntra & on The Zoom Studios YouTube Channel .  Directed by the very talented, Rishabh Seth, the show features the popular actors – Aahana Kumra and Amol Parashar, who will be seen together for the second time.

    ‘Ready 2 Mingle’ is a series about ‘everyday relationships’ of millennials and the constant search to find their true love. The focus of ‘Ready 2 Mingle’ are the modern-day love gurus Myra and Nirav who, through their exceptional talent of hosting the perfect singles parties, unite those in search of true love. But soon, enough, they start to lose grip on love in their own lives. The show deals with issues that each one of us face in our lives at some point but there is ample amount of fun and frolic that keeps it engaging and breezy.

    Myra, played by Aahana Kumra and Nirav, played by Amol Parashar are poster couple who are out to connect singles seeking true love. The two of them have extremely contrasting personalities, Myra being very controlling in nature whereas Nirav is a party animal. But as they say, opposites attract. But the question is, how long can opposites stay together!

    Speaking on the new series, Ready 2 Mingle, Nikhil Gandhi, President, Times Network says, “We are excited to launch our second series, Ready 2 Mingle, which is a unique take on relationships of today’s generation and promises a never-before journey of fun, parties and everyday struggles of today’s youth.  At Zoom Studios, it is our continuous attempt to offer real, conversational and engaging content that reflects the changing consumption pattern of the youth. I’m sure Ready 2 Mingle will immediately resonate with the audience.”

    Director Rishab Seth says, “The feedback to our promo is exceptionally encouraging for the team. The whole concept of ‘Ready 2 Mingle’ is relatable to every single one of us and the cast have played their parts flawlessly, bringing the characters alive. I cannot wait for the show to premiere.”

    Aahana Kumra says, “The storyline of ‘Ready 2 Mingle’ is a refreshing take on today’s relationships and I am very excited for the viewers to see what we have to offer. It was great working with such a hardworking team. We have put in our all to put forward a great show and I hope the audience will like it too.”

    Amol Parashar says, “The response that we have got from the viewers for the promo has been extremely thrilling. We had a great time shooting for ‘Ready 2 Mingle’. I am sure the audience will enjoy watching the show as much as we enjoyed shooting for it.”