Nykaa would rather be premium than be fourth
from Two by Two (Private) Hosted by The Ken
Inside Myntra, there’s a spreadsheet that lists the competitors it’s tracking closely. Nykaa Fashion is not on it. To find it, you open a dropdown called "others" and scroll past Shoppers Stop, LimeRoad and Club Factory. That is where India's biggest fashion platform files Nykaa's fashion business, eight years after Nykaa promised its IPO investors that fashion would be the second engine. Except this past quarter, Nykaa Fashion made money for the first time in its existence. Its GMV grew 30% last year and crossed ₹4,900 crore, H&M chose it for a marquee launch and became the platform's number one brand within months, and Nike handed it something almost no global brand hands anyone — its entire India digital storefront, run end to end. And finally, Nykaa was profitable, but just about. How did this happen? Nykaa decided to stop competing with Myntra altogether: walk away from the discount war, wind down the private labels, and go premium. Praveen tells the story of Nykaa's two acts in fashion through two conversations — with Aalok Dubey, who has spent thirty years building brands in India, on what premium actually means and why platforms keep falling for private labels; and with Nuha Bubere, who reported The Ken's story on the turnaround, on what Nykaa changed and why Myntra still isn't looking. And together, the story is about Nykaa - which has chosen a different path for itself, and what comes next. References Nykaa finally fixed fashion, and investors came rushing back. Myntra still sees no reason for panic — by Nuha Bubere, The Ken.
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