Fashion portal Myntra is aggressively leveraging its network of ‘kirana’ stores and other small shops to fulfil its last-mile deliveries. Its ‘Mensa Network‘, comprising 2,000 kirana stores (family-run grocery stores) and small shops, now accounts for one in every five deliveries the company makes, said Manpreet Ratia, head of new initiatives at Myntra, adding that on peak days, the orders through the network go up to about 34%.
Myntra, the fashion arm of ecommerce group Flipkart, launched the ‘Mensa Network’ in April this year and has since grown to include 2,000 stores, 40% of which are kirana shops, while the rest are various service providers such as mobile repair and recharge shops, stationery shops, tours and travel operators, courier booking shops and small apparel shops. The network got a boost during the Flipkart’s annual ‘Big Billion Day’ sale in September, Myntra CEO Ananth Narayan had told ET.
Myntra, along with Jabong, which it acquired last year, had a GMV (gross merchandise volume) run rate of $1.5 billion in September, and was set to reach $1.7 billion by the year-end, Narayan had said.
On non-sale days, about 23% of Myntra’s delivery goes through these stores, according to Ratia, who is also chief people officer at Myntra.
“We are aiming to do 70% deliveries through MENSA. We have invested majorly in technology to enable and further scale MENSA to the next level,” Ratia said.
Myntra is also investing in ‘Project Mass’, through which it enables its delivery staff to start their own business and shops and add to the Mensa Network. Myntra is supporting them with a seed fund of Rs 40,000 each, Ratia said.
“Project Mass is aimed at supporting our delivery staff who have had a long association with Myntra and now want to go on the entrepreneurial path,” said Ratia. “These people will act as brand ambassadors for MENSA and attract shops in their vicinity to join the network.”
According to the company, over 370 delivery associates who opted for Project Mass have been inducted, and over 250 of their stores have gone live so far, while others are in progress. These stores account for 40% of the deliveries in northern India and 25%, 20% and 15% in the west, south and east, respectively.
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