The beginning of FirstCry
Earlier, good baby care products were hard to find, but today things have changed. Supam Maheshwari felt the same difficulty in finding the right baby products in India and had to source them from outside the country. Later, he teamed up with Amitava Saha. They created a place for parents in the country where they could get the best baby care products. This is how FirstCry came into the picture.
FirstCry: Its founders
Supam Maheswari, along with Amitava Saha, are the main people behind FirstCry. To bring their experiences and expertise to the company, Maheswari is an IIM Ahmedabad graduate and did engineering from Delhi.
Whereas, Saha is known to hold a master’s degree from the prestigious IIM Lucknow along with a Btech degree. He had a robust background. The combination of these people led to the launch of FirstCry, which easily filled the gap in baby care products in the Indian market.
FirstCry started in 2010 when Maheswaro along with Saha got to know the potential of an online platform that could offer access to baby care products or brands around the globe. They started working on their inventory-based model, shipping products, etc. in the prominent cities of the country.
With time, the brand became an omnichannel retailer, offering the online shopping experience along with offline stores. Be it diapers, feeding baby products, toys, clothing, etc.
It focuses on offering a hassle-free shopping experience along with fast delivery. Today, the company has a presence in around 350 franchised stores across the country.
FirstCry: Its revenue model as well as financials
The revenue model of the company is multifaceted. It involves product sales via online and offline platforms, along with franchise fees. The company also introduced innovative marketing strategies such as ‘FirstCry Box’ to attract parents.
However, with significant revenue growth, the company faced some challenges with the rising expansion and expenses, which resulted in net losses.
Its growth and FirstCry acquisitions
The growth trajectory of FirstCry is marked by planned acquisitions that involve BabyOye, Oi Playschool, etc. This helps in broadening the market’s presence and its offerings in the market.
Despite facing strong competition from portals like Amazon, etc., along with local vendors, the company has maintained its robust position in this market. This has been possible with its wide range of products as well as its omnichannel approach.
The financial growth of FirstCry
In FY21, the company saw a great leap in its performance. The revenue of the company doubled to Rs. 1603 crore from Rs. 815 crores in the last year. In FY22, the growth momentum continued for the company, where its revenue went to Rs. 2401 crore. In FY23, the revenue soared to around Rs. 5632 crore, which was primarily driven by product sales and accounted for 98% of the overall revenue.
