Excl: Myntra looking to raise over $100M in funding

Bangalore-based Myntra Designs Pvt Ltd, which runs the lifestyle e-commerce site Myntra.com, is looking to raise $100 million in another round of funding, sources close to the development informed Techcircle.in.

We contacted Mukesh Bansal, co-founder and CEO, Myntra, but he declined to comment.

Ashutosh Lawania, co-founder, Myntra, had earlier mentioned that the company is looking to double sales to Rs 800 crore in FY14. The firm is also looking to penetrate to Tier II cities during this period. The new funds, if and when raised, could aid in the same.

The company had last year (between the third and fourth quarters of 2012) secured an additional $25 million from existing investors, including Tiger Global and Accel Partners. This funding round, which was not formally announced, followed a $20 million Series C funding round in early 2012 led by Tiger Global. It took the total institutional funding at Myntra to $65 million.

Myntra is one of the heavily funded e-commerce companies in India. Besides $45 million in two tranches last year, it had raised around $14 million from Tiger Global, IDG Ventures and Indo-US Venture Partners (now Kalaari Capital) in March 2011. It also raised $5 million in Series A funding from NEA-IndoUS Ventures, IDG Ventures and Accel Partners in November 2008.

Founded in 2007 by a group of IIT/IIM graduates, Myntra has offices in Bangalore and New Delhi. In April this year, it acquired San Francisco-based virtual fitting room startup Fitiquette for an undisclosed amount. It was Myntra's second acquisition after its acquisition of Exclusively.in Inc.—the company behind the private label brand SherSingh.com and the fashion site Exclusively.in—which it acquired for an undisclosed amount in November 2012.

Within two months of the acquisition, Myntra pulled the plug on one of its two e-commerce properties, SherSingh.com, which sold private label apparel. In May this year, the company revised its product exchange offer for all its shoppers, enabling buyers to exchange an item for another size, without having to return the product first and then re-order it.

It is one of the top lifestyle e-tailers in the country; its closest competitor is Jabong.com and the late entrant Flipkart.com.

In an exclusive interview with Techcircle.in earlier this year (March 2013), Bansal had mentioned that an IPO is a possibility by 2016. "Our ambition is to be the largest fashion and lifestyle e-tailer in India and we think we have got a very credible shot at that. We will continue to focus on that and build our expertise further. And yes, definitely an IPO is possible two-three years down the line," he had said at the time.

(Edited by Joby Puthuparampil Johnson)