Myntra establishes itself as the most preferred destination for sportswear in India

Myntra has emerged as the nation’s most sought after retailer for sportswear. The category has witnessed strong growth on the platform at 30 per cent year-on-year over the last five years, owing to concentrated efforts by the online fashion major to grow the segment and catering to the budding enthusiasm for sports and fitness among the masses.
Apart from improving shopper experience, Myntra has been successful in changing the dynamics of consumer profile by attracting more women to shop for sportswear, making it the most preferred platform in the country among women for the category. Myntra’s dominance in women’s wear extends to fitness wear categories like Running, Gym-wear, Aerobic, Dance and Yoga through exclusive offerings from marquee brands like Nike, adidas, Puma, HRX, Reebok and 2GO. Myntra’s efforts has also led brands in the space to grow their base and contributes 15-20 per cent to the revenue of major brands like Nike, Puma and adidas on Myntra’s platform. About 35 per cent of Myntra’s own revenue comes from the same, while enjoying a 40 per cent share of the market in the category.
Enthusiasm for sport and exploration, especially among youngsters has given rise to another interesting category called ‘outdoor’, for which Myntra is the favourite destination among shoppers in the country. Myntra ushered in top global outdoor wear brands such as The North Face, Merrel, Columbia, Solomon and Timberland, addressing the growing need, especially for hiking, adventure travel and mountaineering. In addition to launching international brands, Myntra also engages with its customers in exciting ways through some of the brands. For instance, it allows them to visit the Everest base camp in collaboration with Columbia Sportswear.
Some of the customers have developed a very special relationship with the concept that they wait weeks to get a chance to buy products like adidas Yeezy, Nike Jordan sneakers or Nike Vapor-max, which usually sells out in under a minute. Myntra now ships out over one million units of footwear during an ‘End of Reason Sale’ month, at 20X sales over a normal day.
Puspen Maity, VP and Business Head – Sports, Footwear and Accessories, Myntra, said, “Success of the sportswear category on our platform can be attributed to two important factors –Curation of the finest collection from among top domestic and international brands and the ability to utilize data and advanced technology to map or forecast demand, styles and trends in the market and cater to consumer’s needs. Consumer is always at the core of any decision making that we do at Myntra, and we understand that more and more people are embracing healthier lifestyle. Sportswear category will witness very strong growth in the years to come and we expect about 0.5 billion dollars in revenue from the segment over the next 3 years.”
Abhishek Ganguly, Managing Director, Puma India, added, “More and more young consumers are following, buying, collecting and even preserving sneakers. This culture is gaining huge traction all across the country. PUMA plans to introduce innovation and style through our global range of products on a regular basis. Myntra with its sneaker store has created the right base for generating interest around sneakers. It has also created an engagement platform for sneaker freaks across the country.”
With 2018 gearing up for the Football World cup, the market in India for football related merchandise, ranging from jerseys, match balls and accessories is set to experience frenzy like never before. Another interesting aspect is the growing popularity of Athleisure – The new dress code. The current trend of sporty silhouettes and sports inspired lifestyle wear will continue in 2018 as well, with multiple Indian designers & celebrities endorsing it heavily. It will see a mixture of new colors, more brands, innovative fabric techniques and silhouettes.
Growing at 10 per cent CAGR, the sportswear category in India is currently valued at rupees 32,000 crore, of which online segment has a share of 25 per cent in the organized market. This is set to grow steadily in the coming years with more and more people opting to shop online.