Myntra CEO Amar Nagaram decides to move on, plans to launch his own venture

Nagaram has been an integral part of the Flipkart Group for close to 10 years and has led various teams at Flipkart prior to his current role.

Amar Nagaram, the chief executive officer of Walmart-owned online fashion retailer Myntra has quit the company. After nearly three years of leading Myntra, Nagaram has decided to leave the Flipkart Group to pursue his own venture.

“Over the last several years, Amar (Nagaram) has built a strong leadership team at Myntra that is well placed to drive Myntra’s vision forward and take the business to new heights,” said Kalyan Krishnamurthy, chief executive officer of Flipkart Group, in a letter addressed to the employees and seen by Business Standard. “Amar (Nagaram) will be with us till end-December to ensure a smooth transition and will continue to be associated with us in an advisory role. We will share details of his successor shortly. I thank (him)for all his contributions and wish him the best in his future endeavours.”

In 2019, Nagaram replaced Ananth Narayanan who stepped down from the post of chief executive officer of Myntra and Jabong, which were the fashion units of Flipkart. Ngaram took over as head, Myntra and Jabong, and reported to Flipkart Group CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy.

Nagaram, that time was a vice-president at Flipkart. In his seven-year-long stint at Flipkart that time, Nagaram had largely worked on Flipkart’s consumer-facing mobile and web platforms.  Under his leadership, the company (Myntra and Jabong combined) continued to execute the growth strategy and leverage synergies with Flipkart as appropriate. The leadership at Myntra and Jabong allowed the business to continue on its strong and sustainable growth trajectory.

“As many of you know, Amar (Nagaram) has been an integral part of the Group for close to 10 years and has led various teams at Flipkart prior to his current role, and we will miss his presence in the team,” said Krishnamurthy.

Prior to Flipkart, Nagaram worked as an engineer at Walmart Labs with CTO and SVP to drive and evangelize the development of an interactive, effective next-generation platform for e-commerce. He also helped set up Walmart Labs India centre.

Over the years, Myntra has grown to be among the leading fashion, beauty, and lifestyle brands in the country. Krishnamurthy said the brand has not only established a strong connection with customers and brand partners but has also enabled the ecosystem with myriad opportunities.

“In this effort, Amar Nagaram has been a strong enabler, under whose leadership the company has delivered highly engaging and personalized fashion experiences for customers,” said Krishnamurthy.

The development about Nagaram leaving Myntra has come at a time when the company is set to emerge as the biggest beauty and personal care (BPC) player in the country and give strong competition to traditional players and online beauty platforms such as Nykaa, MyGlamm and Purplle.

Beauty and personal care is a major driver of new customer acquisition for the firm. A much higher proportion of users are making their first orders on Myntra are showing affinity towards buying BPC items.

The coronavirus pandemic has accelerated the shift among consumers towards online shopping of these products.

Myntra now has over 650 domestic and international brands and more than 27,000 styles. It plans to scale this to 1000 brands and over 35,000 styles by the end of the year. In the last 6 months, the firm has scaled from 400 brands to 650 brands, roughly added 250 brands and 20,000 SKUs (stock-keeping unit).

Myntra is looking forward to festive shopping from customers in beauty and personal care categories that are more outdoor in nature, like make-up, fragrances and appliances. About 40 per cent of Myntra’s BPC business comes from the make-up category. Within this, the face has a share of 30 per cent.

Metro and Tier-1 customers together make 55 per cent of the current BPC customer base, while the rest are from Tier 2 cities and beyond.

During this edition of Myntra’s Big Fashion Festival (BFF) this month, Myntra Beauty is significantly bigger than the previous event. Last year Myntra housed 400 brands and 15,000 styles. This selection has increased more than 50-60 per cent year-on-year.