Myntra goes ‘app-only’ mode

(Left to right) Myntra e-commerce platform head Prasad Kompalli, Myntra CEO and Flipkart Head of Commerce Mukesh Bansal, Flipkart co-founder and CEO Sachin Bansal and Myntra Chief Product and Technology Officer Shamik Sharma at a Myntra event. — Photo: Special Arrangement

Online fashion retailer Myntra, on Tuesday, said the company would shut its desktop and browser version and go on the ‘app-only’ mode from May 15.

Acquired by Flipkart in 2014, the company will be the first to go the app-only way with the booming smartphone growth.

“Presently, we see 90 per cent traffic coming from the mobile app. Over 70 per cent of sales are via mobile devices. With mobile-based commerce emerging, we want to create a differentiated shopping experience for our consumers,” said Mukesh Bansal, CEO, Myntra, and Head of Commerce, Flipkart.

Myntra targets 5 million app downloads in the next 3 to 4 months. Using the app-only mode, Myntra also plans to give personalised shopping experience to users.

According to the company, the smartphone penetration in India is expected to grow to 600-700 million by 2020 and this will also increase mobile commerce in India. Sachin Bansal, Co-Founder & CEO, Flipkart, said, “Consumers’ are shifting fast to smart phones for commerce and information consumption in a big way. It is a great step that Myntra has taken towards creating a differentiated experience that will generate customer pull and make it a one stop solution for all fashion needs.”

Further, he said, Flipkart would also look at an app- only model. However, it had not set any time line for the same, he added.

To hire experts from Silicon Valley

Myntra plans to hire more people from the Silicon Valley in the U.S. to beef up its technology team. At present, Myntra has a 300-member strong technology team, and is planning to increase it to 500 soon. “As the e-commerce industry in India is growing, we are seeing a lot of interest from Indians working in the U.S. to come back. I have fixed meetings with people who are interested to join us. I am looking to hire people with expertise in mobile technologies, analytics, image processing among others,” said Chief Product and Technology Officer Shamik Sharma.

The company is looking to hire at least 10-20 mid-level and senior level technology guys and join them in India.

Mr. Sharma is having meetings with senior people from companies such as Google, Facebook, Linkedin, Yahoo among others.

Apart from the San Francisco Bay Area, it is also looking to hire experts from Seattle, Texas.