This letter by Mukesh Bansal to his employees is stuff of inspiration and admiration..!!
“Hi All – My incredible journey with Myntra and Flipkart comes to an end. It has been amazing nine years filled with lot of learning, privilege to work with outstanding people and chance to participate in building future industry of India that will impact hundreds of millions of people.
When Ashutosh and I started Myntra in 2007, we never dreamt in our wildest imagination that we will come this far. What’s even more amazing is that it seems we are just getting started and the journey ahead for Flipkart/Myntra is going to be even more fascinating and at the scale that India has never seen before.
Today, Myntra is by far the best fashion destination in the country and is run by a strong, passionate leadership team led by Ananth. I am confident that this team will make Myntra an iconic company which will change the face of fashion industry in India. Myntra is leading the industry with premium service, differentiated shopping experience, unique in-house brands and lot of progress towards achieving profitability. I am particularly proud of the culture at Myntra which is a huge source of strength and differentiation and inspiration for entire ecosystem.
My two years with Flipkart has been nothing short of fairy tale! Sachin and Binny have built a very unique company that has practically created the eCommerce industry in India and consistently led in innovation like COD, eKart, 30 Day Returns and mCommerce. The Audacity, Flipkart first and Bias for action have been cornerstone of the Flipkart culture that enables us to dream big and consistently beat our own expectations. We are well on our way to build India’s first real tech company, drive genuine innovation and transform commerce in India through technology.
I have enjoyed every minute of my time with Flipkart and felt inspired every moment. In last two years, we have established very strong leadership in Fashion, transformed the business into Marketplace model, increased our Smartphone market share to 60% and built differentiators in Large. We have pivoted to completely mobile first company with 60% mCommerce market-share for the group. We have embarked on the journey to be a strong product/tech organisation with very high caliber talent. Last year, we set out to build the best leadership team in India and we have done exactly that. With the caliber of this team, I am very confident that Flipkart is in safe hands and this team is eminently capable of charting the course for next phase of Flipkart journey.
I am very excited with Binny coming in as CEO and my transition will enable him to work directly with CP leadership. Binny’s ability to drive execution rigour, objectivity and long term vision for Flipkart will give us best shot in dealing with the challenges that lie ahead. Binny, along with the leadership and the amazing talent pool at Flipkart will do justice to any mandate and continue to push the boundaries for eCommerce/Internet businesses in India and beyond. I will transition my role to Binny and will be available as long as required to ensure a smooth and successful transition. With this team in place and the momentum on multiple fronts, CP is in great hands and I feel confident that this is right time for me to move on to next phase.
Even though my journey comes to an end, I will always be deeply emotionally connected to Flipkart and Myntra. I will continue to be available from outside as sounding board and mentor to the team. Last nine years have completely transformed me as a person and I will cherish every moment. The hardest part will be to part ways with all the incredible people I had the privilege to get to know and work with. I will seek you out over next few weeks to say my good-byes in person and to celebrate what we have achieved together.
I am looking forward to a long break after my transition and catching up on my reading, travel and fitness. I will be spending bunch of time with my kids and catch up on all the fun I have missed with them all these years.
With a heavy heart but lots of excitement for the future, it is time for me to sign-off! Wish you all the very best in building something that all of India will be proud of and which will be the role model of the potential of new India built through entrepreneurship and technology.
My sincere thanks and regards, Mukesh Bansal”
