Flipkart-owned Myntra has been planning an entry into offline sales for quite some time now, and the company has finally launched its first store in India. The first store has been opened in Indiranagar, Bengaluru under the private label name Roadster.
Roadster label is an in-house label launched in 2012. Since then, it has become one of the highest grosser for the company. According to a report by ET, Myntra’s Roadster store has taken almost 3,500 sq ft in the posh area of Bengaluru.
“The store has an array of gadgets and touch screen monitors. Platforms like virtual reality gear along with high-end Samsung handsets will render the digital experience. On the payment front, the store allows its customers to scan product bar code and pay online. Customers can use the VR feature to watch 360 videos about virtual road trips across dramatic locations. Such a platform will give a cumulative experience about brand Roadster,” the report says.
Myntra has made this store extremely customer-friendly and has displays everywhere for them to browse through the catalogue. It is not clear if you can simply order the product from the gadgets and change the look to see how it would appear.
Roadster contributes to nearly Rs. 500 crore in revenue, or 8% of Myntra’s overall revenue, and has grown insanely quick in the last four years. Going offline is one way for Myntra to generate some cash and profits from its own label.
Yepme was another company that had started this online to offline trend, but somehow it did not get picked up by the industry majors. Myntra has another 13 private labels, but it hasn’t yet explicitly stated any plans to start retail stores in India.
Will this improve Myntra’s financials?
Myntra has brought innovation and a few online features to its offline store. The ‘Scan & Go’ feature allows you to pay for your products online, which means no queues, no billing services and no carry bags at the store.
If the company is able to improve the experience at these stores, then it might be looking at some impressive sales figures. However, in terms of profits, it needs to increase the sales of these brands. Roadster is a relatively cheap brand, which means the quality of its products is not top-notch.
The company’s financials last year were terrible and it was bleeding money. However, with Flipkart’s acquisition, it might be able to turn its financials its own way. The omnichannel strategy also might help Myntra in increasing its sales and revenue.
Source: Myntra
Roadster is not a cheap brand and quality of its products is top class.