Myntra forays into Middle East, eyes $28 bn online fashion opportunity

Myntra is expanding in international markets. The Walmart-owned fashion retailer has forayed into the Middle East and launched Myntra Fashion brands there. The Bengaluru-based company has partnered with the leading regional e-commerce platforms, noon.com and namshi.com to offer brands of Indian origin to millions of fashion-forward shoppers in the region.

Both Noon and Namshi are a part of the Emaar group, a conglomerate located in the UAE, known for developing the Burj Khalifa and the Dubai Mall. Noon is a horizontal e-commerce platform with offerings in multiple categories. Namshi is a vertical platform, focusing primarily on fashion in the premium segment. The brands that have been launched on Noon include Dressberry, Mast & Harbour, Moda Rapido, Here & Now, Sztori and HRX. Namshi will list Dressberry, Mast & Harbour, Wrogn and HRX, over the next few weeks. These brands and styles were chosen based on regional trends and consumer preferences.

“The Middle East is actually similar to India 3-4 years ago, in terms of the e-commerce market. It is an $8 billion market expected to grow to about $28 billion in the next 3-4 years,” said Amar Nagaram, CEO, Myntra, in an interview. “We are looking forward to a 5X growth from the partnership over the next two years. Myntra will continue to explore new markets in order to build brands of international repute and expand its base of global consumers,” he said.

Myntra’s research identified high levels of potential channels across the globe offering significant opportunities in the online fashion segment. Amongst these, the Middle East stood out in terms of the audience’s demographic profile, extremely high mobile penetration, the similarity in fashion preferences and a large population of Indian origin.

E-commerce was worth $8.3 billion in 2017 in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and this is expected to grow at a strong rate (more than triple) by 2022 to reach $28.5 billion, according to research by Bain & Company and Google.  

Average internet penetration rates in the region are very high (about 70 per cent). For certain countries like UAE and Saudi Arabia, it is upwards of 90 per cent according to various industry sources.

Early last year, when Myntra wanted to go international, Walmart helped the company tap the e-commerce market in Canada.

“I don't think any player of that size would have allowed us to do a pilot. Walmart really gave us that space and platform to experiment which provided us with a lot of learning. It helped us understand the international markets,” said Nagaram. “Now with Noon and Namshi, from day one, we are talking about scale,” he pointed out.

With this entry of the Myntra Fashion Brands into the Middle East, the company is largely betting on casual wear categories, which form a major portion of the business in its domestic market. This is also aligned with the latest trends indicating a recent shift towards T-shirts, comfort bottoms and activewear, prompting a focus on similar categories. This shift in trend is propelled by a considerable change in lifestyle, owing to the ongoing pandemic. 

Fashion retailer Myntra forays into the Middle East market.

Partners with the leading regional e-commerce platforms, Noon and Namshi.

Myntra expects 5X growth from the partnership over the next two years.

E-commerce in the Middle East and North Africa is expected to grow to reach $28.5 billion by 2022 from $8.3 billion in 2017.

Over 75 per cent of the styles being exported by Myntra to these markets are developed in India.

Last year Walmart helped Myntra tap the e-commerce market in Canada.