Myntra acquires Bengaluru-based Native5, to boost its mobile app growth

Flipkart and Myntra had recently closed down their mobile websites, with the aim of focussing more resources on their mobile apps. There is also speculation that they may close down their desktop websites in the future and go mobile app only, considering that they are getting a lot of traction on their apps.

Myntra recently hosted an open 'Mobile Hack Day' and had about 160 internal and external participants from various companies developing hacks around their mobile app. The winning hacks included a chat-based commerce, real time chat application to buy with friends, an augmented reality shooting game and an app that links all other apps. This shows that Myntra is serious about its 'app only' strategy and is looking at all possible angles to provide a better and more complete end-to-end experience.

Flipkart recently acquired Appiterate, to further strengthen its mobile offerings and now following suit, Myntra has acquired Bengaluru-based mobile app development platform company Native5. This acquisition aims to strengthen and expand Myntra’s mobile technology team which is focused on driving change in the online shopping space.

Native5 led by Kunal Abhishek, Barada Sahu, Shamik Datta and Manish Priyadarshi was founded in 2012 and builds tools and services to enable cross platform app development on the cloud. As the part of the deal, the entire team at Native5 (barring Manish Priyadarshi) will join Myntra and work towards creating innovative mobile experiences.

Kunal believes that with a strong focus on mobile, Myntra offers a great opportunity to leverage the capabilities built by Native5 over the last three years.

Related read: Weaving the Internet of Things: Native5

Shamik Sharma, Chief Product & Technology Officer, Myntra says,

We have been aggressively ramping up our product teams (with mobile expertise) and have been constantly on the lookout for quality talent both in India and the Bay Area. The Native5 team has built a hybrid development platform for mobile and we are keen to use their expertise to strengthen our mobile offerings.

Native5 is Myntra’s second technology led acquisition. In April 2013, Myntra acquired Fitiquette, a San Francisco- based technology solution.