Myntra raises $50 million in new funding led by Premji Invest, aims $1 billion GMV by 2016

Putting a halt to speculations about probable acquisition of Myntra by Flipkart, Myntra has confirmed the $50 million (about Rs.300 crore) investment led by Premji Invest along with existing investors Accel Partners and Tiger Global. This funding will be used by Myntra to strengthen its technology, infrastructure, customer experience and fund future growth initiatives. The company aims to achieve $1 billion GMV (Gross Merchandise Value) by 2016.Founded in 2007, Myntra has raised close to $75 million from investors, including Accel Partners and Tiger Global. The portal at present receives over 50 million visits every month and showcases close to 50,000 products from over 600 brands.

Speaking about the investment, Mukesh Bansal, co-founder and CEO, Myntra, said, “The key to our success has been a robust business model and a customer centric approach that has resulted in Myntra.com emerging as the ultimate fashion destination for shoppers across India. We have been growing steadily, increasing our product offerings and attracting new users from different corners of the country. This round of funding will allow us to scale up, attract and retain superior talent, ramp up our technology infrastructure and strengthen the Myntra brand.”

Over the past fortnight, mainstream media has been talking about possible Flipkart-Myntra merger; however Sachin Bansal had termed it as a mere speculation in a recent interview. With this round, Myntra would be in better position to dominate and maintain its leadership in the fashion vertical. Fashion has emerged as the most desired vertical for e-commerce players as it enable them to snap up healthy margin when compared to electronics, mobiles and others.

Less than a year ago, Flipkart started developing clothes and shoes as a category and it has strong focus on driving this vertical which is bigger than electronics. Fashion is getting hotter with e-commerce in India and it would be interesting to watch how Myntra, Flipkart and Jabong among others fare in the future.

Watch this space for more on Myntra.