Flipkart's Fashion Vertical Beat Myntra, Jabong, Revenue Hits $1bn

Filpkart has said its standalone fashion business has racked up sales of $1 billion (about Rs.6,500 crore) for the year ending March 2018, racing ahead of its group entity, Myntra, which is likely to have generated sales of about $900 million. These are actual sales and not gross merchandise value, or GMV, run rate which etailers typically quote, a Flipkart executive said.

At the end of March 2017, While Flipkart claims to be at the pole position in the online fashion retailing category, offline retailers like Aditya Birla Fashion and Shoppers Stop registered revenues of Rs.6,632 crore and Rs.3,648 crore, respectively. Flipkart’s arch rival Amazon’s fashion business is still smaller, according to industry sources.

Flipkart fashion head Rishi Vasudev said the online retailer’s business grew faster in non-metro cities, which generate about 55% of overall fashion sales, and is chasing a GMV run rate of $1.6-1.7 billion. Fashion is one of the top three businesses for Flipkart, and has a higher frequency of purchase and generates stronger margins compared to smartphones and electronics.

Vasudev said Flipkart’s gross sales do not factor in the discounts and returns given out by the e-tailer, a regular occurrence for the ecommerce industry. The business, as a whole, grew 40% annually. “We have a clear leadership with about 35% market share. We aim to grow 60% going forward.”

Satish Meena, analyst at Forrester Research, said Amazon has been aggressively onboarding brands onto its platform to push the category.