Flipkart fashion arm Myntra says private labels post operating profit

Flipkart’s fashion arm Myntra posted an operating profit in its private labels business in the past two months, the chief executive of Myntra said on Thursday, boding well for its business outlook.

This would help Myntra’s in-house brands portfolio post a double-digit operating profit margin in the next 18-24 months, Ananth Narayanan told reporters in Bengaluru, reiterating the firm’s target to become profitable by March 2018.

Nine of the top 20 brands sold on its portal are Myntra’s own fashion labels, Narayanan said.

Flipkart, India’s leading homegrown online retailer, and its fashion arms Myntra and Jabong together control two-thirds of the country’s online fashion market.

Private labels are seen as lucrative, high-margin business for online marketplaces such as Amazon.com and Flipkart as they can control the sales, marketing and distribution of their products.