BENGALURU : Online fashion retailer Myntra on Friday clarified that it will operate as an independent separate business. The announcement from the company follows reports that Myntra and Jabong would be merged with Flipkart. The US retail major Walmart that owns Myntra, while announcing the resignation of Flipkart Chief Executive Officer Binny Bansal, had brought Myntra and Jabong under Flipkart. It had appointed Kalyan Krishnamurthy as Flipkart CEO and said that Myntra CEO Ananth Narayanan would report to him. Walmart had also said that PhonePe, another entity it owned through Flipkart acquisition, would continue as an independent company under Sameer Nigam.
In a statement issued by Myntra, the company said, “Myntra’s independence as a business is to be preserved. Myntra team will continue to operate independently to achieve even greater success. We will continue to lead the market, serve our customers and do what we do best.”
With the new structure in place post the resignation of Bansal, many market watchers were of the opinion that Walmart will merge Myntra with Flipkart, as the company already had a fashion arm ‘Flipkart Fashion’. It had also resulted in speculations that Ananth Narayanan has resigned from the company. However, Myntra, waving off speculations, said that “Ananth Narayanan continues to lead the team.”
In the meanwhile, Dipanjan Basu, Chief Financial Officer of Myntra and Jabong, has resigned from the company. “Dipanjan is now serving his notice period. He would have to serve the period specified for the senior management,” said a person privy to the development. At the same time, Walmart has decided to integrate Jabong with Myntra. As the next step in this process, Myntra and Jabong will now fully integrate all the remaining functions including technology, marketing, category, revenue, finance, and creative teams.
“The closer integration of Myntra and Jabong is a necessary step in our continuing development. To remain the leader in fashion e-commerce in India, we have to find ways to operate more effectively and innovate more quickly,” said a company spokesperson.
The Myntra-Jabong merger will likely to result in job cuts in the company. At present, the company employs about 600-700 people and the integration may result in 40 per cent reduction in employee count.
“By better aligning our resources with our long-term plans, we can put the best structure in place to serve our sellers and brand partners, and ultimately benefit our customers,” Myntra spokesperson added.