From products to services, FirstCry wants to be a one-stop solution for you and your kids
nUGGET #2
Raising a child is not a one-(wo)man’s job. It takes a village to raise a child, but in metropolitan cities, parents have found that village in FirstCry. A multi-channel retail company, FirstCry sells mother- and child-care products in India, and the Middle East. In August, its parent firm, Brainbees Solutions Limited, listed on stock exchanges, with a 40% premium over its issue price on NSE.
Currently valued at $2.7 billion, FirstCry is one among the first startups in the highly fragmented mom & baby care segment to list publicly. From multi-channel operations in India to offline stores in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, FirstCry caters to parents — especially mothers — from the time of conception until their child turns 12.
Founded in November 2010 by Supam Maheshwari and Amitava Saha, FirstCry wanted to help parents raise their children, by creating a one-stop destination for all their parenting and child care needs.
In its journey of around one and a half decade, FirstCry has tapped into all opportunities in the mom and baby care segment, from manufacturing diapers, apparels, toys, maternity wear to daycare facilities and play schools to become the ultimate solution for upwardly mobile and affluent Indian parents.
Firstcry has many feathers in its cap; however, 14 years since its founding and over a month since public listing, the company is still struggling to break even.
In August, its CEO, Maheshwari, said that the company's current focus is on profitability and improving cash flows. The proceeds from the IPO will mostly go into setting up new stores and warehouses, and overseas expansion in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
With the IPO proceeds, especially after its strong listing, and its revenues soaring, FirstCry will turn profitable in two years at most. The retail company has already made its mark in the Middle Eastern market. Its average order value internationally was around 3.5 times that of India - Rs 7,644 as against Rs 2,181.
While FirstCry can keep going for linear expansion in the coming years, and tap into more overseas markets, it can also look to expand its vertical marketplace in India.
How, you ask?
Started with baby products, FirstCry then expanded into maternity care and kids' products, and went on to acquire playschools. Today, it also has several content offerings, in the form of parenting tips, health, and also, beauty and fashion. Going forward, FirstCry will only pump in more money to bulk up its vertical space.
The startup already features an extensive content library on its website, with articles ranging from planning pregnancy, beach safety for kids to 'How to fill in your eyebrows?', but it is not a media company, yet.
Once it turns profitable and starts thriving, FirstCry can leverage its existing customer base to double down on its content offerings. To deepen engagement with its audience, especially in a world of fleeting attention spans, FirstCry could double down on content creation, perhaps even launching a separate media vertical dedicated to producing bite-sized, easy-to-consume content. Firstcry might potentially follow in the footsteps of Amazon by creating its own hardware devices which would further their perception as an ecosystem enabler. This strategic shift could allow FirstCry to blend products, services and content to shape its future offerings.