Today, there is an online retail store for every specialised sector, including grocery, electronics, furniture, and fashion. Imagine having a special internet store only for children and expectant mothers. Every woman goes through a moment in her life called pregnancy, and it requires the utmost attention and care.
Pregnant women require specific items that can aid their pregnancies, but these items are not frequently found on the market. Similar to this, a newborn infant also needs particular supplies. Thus the parents must visit several stores to find two or three items for their child. Kids growing up in the 1990s could never have predicted the appeal of online shopping. No one also imagined how the concept of shopping would change due to e-commerce.
As a result, having access to all of these essential things at one time through an online retail store will be a blessing for everyone. FirstCry is an online marketplace that provides for all of these requirements of expectant mothers and newborn babies.
Supam Maheshwari and Amitava Saha founded FirstCry in 2010 to expand the reach of internet shopping by offering baby care products to the general public.
About Firstcry Company
An online-and-offline company called FirstCry offers a variety of goods for moms, kids, and babies. The firm was created to address the issue that millions of Indian parents lacked access to the top brands and baby care items for their children. A wide selection of products is available at Firstcry.com, including diapers, feeding, nursing products, skin and health care products, toys, apparel, and footwear.
More than 90,000 products from about 1200 foreign and Indian companies are available on Firstcry.com. The business offers the top brands and products at competitive costs, a quality online shopping experience, timely delivery, and trustworthy delivery service.
Why “Firstcry” Name?
Its marketing methods are substantially enhanced by the brand name “FirstCry,” wisely selected. The company’s name refers to a newborn’s first cry, and it is noteworthy that it offers all of the baby necessities and additional accessories for children and babies.
Startup Story of Firstcry
The seeds were planted in 2010 when there were few possibilities for purchasing baby care and children’s products online in India. Co-founder and owner of FirstCry Supam would purchase items for his son in the nations he travelled to on business. Due to the circumstance, he became aware of the enormous market potential for an online platform that would provide Indian parents with access to the top baby care brands from across the world. FirstCry was founded in this manner by Supam Maheshwari and Amitava Saha.
Business and Revenue Models for Firstcry
FirstCry operates a hybrid integrated business model that combines online and offline retail outlets. In addition to its extensive online presence, the business has over 400 outlets, including 350 franchise locations throughout India. Through a particular programme, FirstCry distributes “FirstCry Boxes” to over 70,000 parents each month, reaching over 70,000 parents in total.
In 6,000 hospitals around the nation, this programme offers complimentary gift boxes to new parents as a token of congratulations on the birth of their child. Basic essentials like diapers, baby lotion, baby oil, and other items are included in the box from well-known manufacturers like Mamy Poko and Libero. Through this effort, FirstCry has already communicated with millions of parents throughout India.
Resources and Investors
Ten investment rounds totalling $741.4 million have been made in FirstCry. The business acquired $313 million in funding on March 30, 2021, through a venture round and a secondary market deal. After a $296 million investment round headed by Softbank in February 2020, the well-known marketplace for kids’ and baby products became a unicorn.
The Startup Challenges at Firstcry
India has a sizable and potential market for baby care products. The difficulty comes from the disorganised market. It’s critical to remain relevant to customers. As a result, the FirstCry company team must constantly look for new methods to implement.
Conclusion
Today, FirstCry has become the go-to website for practically all parents in our nation who enjoy shopping online. As an online retail platform, FirstCry is the only one that offers fierce competition. On the other hand, it faces fierce competition from other offline retail chains. Therefore, FirstCry is regularly increasing the number of offline stores and expanding its offline stores.
The company’s primary goal is to grow by 100% annually and try to double the rate at which its business is expanding from the previous year. They have established themselves as the undisputed market leaders in India for the online market and aim to do the same for the offline industry.
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