As the economy is set for a long winter, the companies are exploring innovative ways to survive the rough times. NEA-IndoUS backed Myntra.com, a personalised gifting company, and Sequoia Capital-backed Printo, an online print services firm, have entered into partnership where both the companies will use each other's marketing channels to sell their products and services. It's not merger yet, but just a strategic partnership. Mukesh Bansal, CEO of Myntra, denied any equity changing hands.
Bansal explains why the two firms opted for a strategic partnership instead of a merger: "Myntra and Printo are into extremely different businesses with different core operations, hence operating the two businesses under the same company would not have made sense. Hence we went in for a strategic partnership."
So post-partnership, Myntra will be able to offer its personalised products such as calendars, posters, photo book, diaries etc through Printo outlets. Printo, on the other hand, will be allowed to offer a significantly enhanced product catalogue supported by Myntra.
According to company estimates, corporate gifting market in India is estimated to be over Rs 5,000 crore and the total market for personalised products is over Rs 10,000 crore. Both, Myntra and Printo expect a joint revenue of over Rs 100 crore over 3 years as a result of the strategic partnership.
Myntra.com was started in late 2006 by a group of IIT/IIM graduates and now has a team of 65 people. The primary concept of Myntra.com is to provide a platform for personalized products and gifts. Myntra.com has developed a community of Creative Designers who have published over 20,000 designs in the last 12 months.
Printo is a retail chain that provides consumers and businesses with print services and products. Printo offers a single interface for a range of print products like business cards, marketing collateral, reports, calendars, diaries, greetings, invitation cards, personalised print products and branding signages. Its clients include Cafe Coffee Day, Infosys, Wipro, Dell and Titan.
