H&M inks agreement with Myntra to cash in on online fashion boom

H&M gets over 15% of its sales from online channel in India, which is higher than its global average

Swedish fashion and apparel brand H&M is tying up with leading fashion retailer Myntra to boost its prospects in the country’s fast-growing online retail space. 

After launching its in-house e-commerce portal last year, this is the first such tie-up that the fashion retailer has formed in the country.

According to Fredrik Olsson, managing director at H&M, the company already gets over 15 per cent of its sales from online channel in India, which is higher than its global average. “This is only from our own portal. With the tie-up with Myntra, which holds close to 40 percent share in the online fashion retail market, we expect sales to grow further,” he said. While fashion and lifestyle market in India is estimated to be over Rs 5 trillion, the share of online remains small at close to around 7 per cent. 

However, it is growing at high double-digit unlike sales at mom and pop stores. 

According to estimates, it will grow to Rs 1 trillion by 2025 from Rs 35,000 crore now.

Further, Olsson expects tie-ups like these will help H&M reach millions of consumers in smaller towns that are, otherwise, left unattended. 

Janne Einola, country manager at H&M India, said the brand would benefit from Myntra’s 30 million existing customers. “All our products will be available on Myntra and hm.com both,” he said.

According to Einola, H&M plans to open a dozen outlets every year, however, lack of suitable real estate in smaller towns is a barrier that may keep its offline focus on larger cities. Financial viability of stores in smaller towns may have acted as a trigger behind its latest move.

H&M has grown steadily since its entry into market in 2015. During the year ended November 30, 2018, its India business grew by 29 per cent to Rs 1,108 crore. 

During the first two quarter, December-February and March-May, it has grown by 41 per cent and 39 per cent, respectively. Currently, the brand has 42 outlets across metros and tier-I cities.