Myntra claims high revenue growth at sales event

Even as its loss continues to widen, Flipkart-owned fashion portal Myntra on Friday claimed 160% growth in revenue during its latest edition of the 'End of Reason Sale'. This is the fifth year of the sale event by Myntra.

Myntra's acquisition of its closest rival Jabong helped the company post high growth in sales this time. However, the company did not reveal the revenue figures.

Myntra had acquired main competitor Jabong from Global Fashion Group for $70 million (Rs 470 crore then) in cash to create India's biggest fashion e-tailer last July. Jabong and Myntra together hold an estimated 60% of the online fashion market.

Ananth Narayanan, CEO of Myntra and Jabong, said in a statement: "The End of Reason Sale has become an industry-wide event with Jabong's participation this time and has helped us accelerate our journey to achieve sustained growth at the very beginning of the year."

According to the company, sales of international brands grew 2.7 times compared with the January 2016 edition.

Myntra likely spent heavily on marketing this time. Bollywood and sports celebrities such as Salman Khan, Deepika Padukone, Hrithik Roshan, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, R. Ashwin and P.V Sindhu were promoting the sale this year.

Meanwhile, Myntra's losses widened and growth slowed in the year ended March 2016. The company posted revenue of Rs 1,069 crore for FY16, registering 38% year-on-year growth.

Losses widened from Rs 741 crore to Rs 816 crore, according to a report in the Mint newspaper citing regulatory filings. The sales growth of 38% was a sharp fall from the 75% growth it witnessed in the previous two years, the report said, attributing it to Myntra's decision to go app-only in May 2015.

The filings were made by Myntra Designs Pvt Ltd, which sources products for the Myntra platform. The sales are carried out by Vector E-commerce Pvt. Ltd, which is yet to file its financials.