Hrithik Roshan’s HRX to join Myntra’s private brand club

E-commerce fashion retailer Myntra is buying a majority stake in Hrithik Roshan’s active lifestyle brand ‘HRX’ aiming at boosting its high-margin private brands business, reports Mint.

The financial details of the deal haven’t been disclosed by Myntra and the transactions would be completed over the course of next few weeks.

Rajesh Narkar, vice-president, Myntra Fashion Brands said that HRX, that was launched in late 2013 will bring in sales of Rs.300 crore this financial year, up from Rs.100 crore last year. Myntra is expecting private brands to contribute up to 30 percent of its sales by March 2017, from about 20 percent at the beginning of the financial year. The company is targeting gross sales of Rs.5,000 crore this year.

Hrithik’s brand is both into sportswear and lifestyle products that include backpacks, wallets, belts besides clothing and shoes. “This deal will add an attractive sportswear and lifestyle brand in our private brand's collection. Indians are looking to become healthier, more active and want more choice. Leaving aside a few international sports brands, there’s a lack of choice for consumers in sportswear and lifestyle and there’s massive scope to build a large brand in this segment. Buying an equity stake in HRX will align our vision with HRX’s over the long term,” added Narkar.

Presently, HRX is available on Myntra and Flipkart and with this deal it will become a 12th private brand on the platform, joining the likes of Roadster and Dressberry. The company is also looking to setup offline stores in India and expand its reach internationally in the coming year.

For HRX, selling a large stake to Myntra will mean getting access to analytics, data on customer preferences and more marketing power. We’ve built a strong brand in sports and lifestyle in less than three years. With Myntra’s strength in analytics, data and the online channel and our product vision and strength in building brands, HRX will become a massive brand over the next 3-5 years. With this deal, our strategy and brand vision are completely aligned with Myntra’s, said Kamal Punwani, CFO, Exceed Entertainment, who owns the rights to HRX alongside HrithikRoshan.