MAM
Myntra signs on Chemistry & AKS, targets 10x growth & $1 bn valuation
MUMBAI: Myntra, a leading destination for fashion and lifestyle online, has announced the launch of its Accelerator Programme.
Through this initiative, Myntra is looking at forging strategic partnerships with about 10-15 local fashion brands that have a strong founding team and unique design sensibility. The program is designed to accelerate growth of these brands through technical, know how, analytics and branding support from Myntra.
Myntra has signed partnerships with two brands, Chemistry and AKS and has five more brands in the pipeline. Chemistry is a trendy fashion brand for women, who want to stand apart from generic fashion. With a reach of about half a million customers at present, its association with Myntra through the Accelerator programme is expected to take it to three million customers in the next three years. AKS is an ethnic wear brand for the modern day Indian women. The brand’s strong product value proposition has helped it scale to a $6 million annual GMV in three years. Under Accelerator, it is expected to witness a growth of 10X over the next three years.
Myntra-Jabong CEO Ananth Narayanan said, “We believe that the next 3-5 years will see the emergence of many new national brands. As leaders, Myntra and Jabong are well positioned to work closely with some of these emerging brands to propel them to the national stage.”
The brands will be able to leverage our core strengths – largest mass premium customer base and data driven insights on consumer, while also getting operational support. We are looking at creating about $ 1 billion incremental valuation for the Myntra Accelerator brands over the next three years.
CEO Chemistry Sunil Jhangiani said, “Being an offline brand with a strong foundation, our association with Myntra opens up a new world of opportunities for us in terms of reach, visibility and volumes through the online channel. Myntra’s expertise in building successful online brands over the years, backed by strong technological support will aid us in shaping the future of Chemistry and establishing it as one of the foremost fashion brands in the country. We expect the online sales to become 50% of the brand sales in 3-5 years.”
AKS founder Nidhi Yadav added, “As an online-first brand, we started small with a passion for design and identity. By associating with Myntra, we are taking the first major step towards creating a national brand. Myntra’s ability to build brands through digital marketing, capture and provide insights on customer behavior and enable reach to eight million+ women shoppers will be a game changer for our brand.”
With successful in-house brands such as Roadster and HRX, Myntra has the know-how of creating brands that have the potential to be category leaders. An online-first approach ensures that brands scale much faster and at better economies compared to an offline model. Through this program Myntra will help partners to build their brand online through Myntra and Jabong and also leverage data from the 18 million monthly active users to get insights on customer behavior and product assortments.
MAM
VML India lands two finalist spots at Cairns Hatchlings 2026
The Mumbai agency is back in Australia with two teams, a UN brief and 24 hours to impress
MUMBAI: VML India is heading to Australia again. The Mumbai-based creative agency has secured two finalist spots at the Cairns Hatchlings 2026 competition, one in the Audio category and one in Design, making it the only Indian agency to have reached the finals in both editions of the contest since its launch in 2025.
Four people will make the trip. Senior copywriter Shilpi Dey and senior art director Raj Thakkar will compete in Audio. Art directors Shabbir and Shruti Negi will go head-to-head with the world’s best in Design. The finals take place at the Cairns Convention Centre from 13th May, culminating in an awards ceremony on 15th May.
The work that got them there is worth examining. For the Audio category, Dey and Thakkar tackled a brief for LIVE LIKE MMAD with a campaign called Inner Voice, Interrupted. Using spatial audio techniques, the campaign recreates the overwhelming self-doubt that descends after a long workday, physically panning negative thoughts left and right before cutting the noise entirely to reveal a confident inner voice. Strategically targeted at commuters via Spotify during evening rush hours, the campaign reframes the hours after work as an opportunity for personal growth and charitable action.
For the Design category, Shabbir and Negi worked on a brief for Canteen’s Bandanna Day, a campaign highlighting how cancer pushes teenagers out of their own defining moments. Using a pixelated design language to create stark contrast between a blurred world of isolation and a focused world of connection, the campaign, titled The Flipside of Cancer, shows teenagers fading into the background of birthdays, skateparks and school proms. As a Canteen bandanna appears, the blur flips and the teenager snaps back into sharp focus.
Kalpesh Patankar, group chief creative officer of VML India, made no attempt to disguise his satisfaction. “We are immensely proud to see our teams consistently excel on the Cairns Hatchlings platform since its inception,” he said. “They have masterfully tackled challenging briefs across diverse categories, demonstrating both layered storytelling and a unique creative approach. This exceptional teamwork is truly inspiring.”
Dey and Thakkar, returning to the finals after last year’s run, were candid about the demands of the audio medium. “It’s one of the most demanding mediums, where we only have a few seconds to capture a listener’s world with sound alone, so absolute clarity is essential,” they said. “The true measure of creative work is its ability to create positive change, and our audio submission was made to help those who need it most while encouraging people to silence the inner voices that hold them back.”
Shabbir and Negi, competing in Design for the first time, described the experience as “a completely different beast.” “We see it as an opportunity to showcase our expertise, raise the bar, and challenge ourselves in new ways, while also learning from creative minds from across the globe,” they said.
In Australia, the four finalists will face a live 24-hour brief from the United Nations before presenting in a live pitch session. Twenty-four hours, one brief, one shot. VML India has been here before. It knows exactly what is at stake.
